Birds of Prey
by Babylon Sky Hawk
Summary: If you think girls are weak, you haven't met these girls. Under the watchful eyes of their mentors, the sidekicks of Earth's greatest champions are ready to deal with the world's greatest evils. That is, if they can deal with each other
1. Biography

**Birds of Prey**

Because I have been dabbling in DC and Marvel lately, I decided to test the waters in the area. This story is inspired by the Young Justice Series, but with some significant changes including characters, story, and relations.

Before you can get started on this story, you need to understand some background on the world and the characters.

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><p><strong><span>World<span>****: **This story takes place in world I call Earth-52. It's a mash between multiple universes from DC, Marvel, and other various universes that I feel like putting in, so there is no set history. The only thing that is established is that the Justice League was formed from the original 7 heroes following the invasion of Starro.

**Justice League****: **Founded by Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, and the Flash following the invasion of Starro. The Justice League was a successful organization that expanded to registering many heroes until the League was disbanded after the Apokolipian Invasion and the subsequent death of the Martian Manhunter at the hands of Darkseid.

Thirty years later, Queen Bee and her HIVE drones invaded Earth and were defeated by the new Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Martian Manhunter, and Aquagirl. 6 of the members worked to reestablish the Justice League, but Batman refused to join them until two years later. The Justice League has been publicly active for five years and has expanded to 18 members.

**Founders**: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquagirl, Martian Manhunter

**Members: **Artemis, Spider-Girl, Micron, Warhawk, Spoiler, Doctor Fate, Wolverine, Static, Avatar, Raven, Iron Man

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><p><strong><span>Important Backgrounds<span>:**

**Superman: **Conner Kent was created as a genetic replication of Superman by Lex Luthor, but turned against his creator to serve for justice. When the sun was transformed into a toxic hazard by Superman's enemy, Solaris, the Man of Steel sacrificed himself to restore the sun to its original shape, leaving Conner to carry the mantle. Since Conner was still getting a grasp on his Kryptonian heritage, it took several decades until he finally emerged as the new Superman and waged constant battle against his arch-enemy, Lena Luthor, daughter of Lex Luthor who has been merged with Brainiac on a genetic level.

During his extensive years of training, Conner understood that his Kryptonian physiology slowed down his aging rate, but being a genetic clone of the original has retarded his growth rate to an extent equal to Wolverine. Superman has two sidekicks: Ariella Kent (Supergirl), a 7 year-old girl that claims to be the daughter of Superman from an alternate dimension. And Christopher Kent (Nightwing), teenage grandson of the original Superman and the nephew of Conner. Though they are both equally powerful (Ariella is considered the strongest of them), Conner doesn't believe they are ready for the Justice League due to their lack of self-control and experience.

Conner formerly had a relationship with M'gann M'orzz, the current Martian Manhunter, until they broke off following the death of the original Martian Manhunter. He has currently developed a relationship with Cassandra Sandsmark, the current Wonder Woman.

**Batman: **Batman's history is relatively close to the original**. **Bruce Wayne retired from crime fighting after unintentionally killing his arch-enemy, the Joker, leaving Gotham in the hands of Nightwing and Red Robin. Terry McGinnis accidentally stumbled into the Bat Cave after a visit to Bruce Wayne's mansion and later returns for the original Batsuit after his father was murdered by the Jokerz. After much investigation, Terry confronted Derek Powers, who would one day become his arch-enemy, Blight. After determining that Terry was a worthy successor of the Batman mantle, Bruce publicly announced the creation of "Batman Inc.", which would provide funding to many superheroes including Batman, Spoiler, Artemis, and the Justice League.

Though he is the least experienced member of the founding Justice League, Terry is widely considered the most powerful. Being personally trained by Bruce Wayne, Azrael, Lady Shiva, and Nightwing, Terry is proficient in many fields to take down enemies. Terry's first partner was Stephanie Brown (Spoiler), daughter of a third-rate villain Clue Master. They worked together for two years until Spoiler took a solo career in Bludhaven under Batman's recommendation and eventually became a full-time member of the Justice League. His current partner is Cassandra Cain (Batgirl), daughter of Lady Shiva. Because of her inability to read, write, or speak proper sentences, it has become harder for Cassandra to adapt to the world around her. With Cassandra's future in mind, Bruce Wayne officially adopted Cassandra as his legal daughter and devoted much of his time teaching Cassandra the basic of normal culture.

As the Batman, it is natural that Terry has developed many relationships with multiple women in the superhero community including Aquagirl, Batgirl, and Artemis. He has finally settled down to an intimate romance with Spider-Girl, May Parker.

**Wonder Woman: **Before his defeat at the hands of the original Wonder Woman, Ares vowed to send a champion that would destroy Themyscira. In response to this threat, Zeus, King of the Gods, sought out a woman of noble heart that would mother the champion of the gods. He came across a kind-hearted archeologist named Helena Sandsmark and blessed her with a child that was gifted with the powers of the Greek Gods. This child would eventually become known as Cassandra. Though her mother was generous in nature, Cassandra was, in her words, "a spoiled brat", often taking advantage of her looks and mother's wealth. But during a cruise in the Atlantic, Cassandra and the ship were attack by a warrior named Genocide, who claimed to be the champion of Ares.

After Genocide sank the ship, Cassandra floated aimlessly on a piece of debris until she miraculously drifted on to the shores of Themyscira. It was there she met Queen Diana, the previous Wonder Woman, and learned the true nature of her birth. After coming to terms with her fate and meeting the father she never knew, Cassandra trained for months with the Amazons, learning how to a mighty warrior in preparations for facing Genocide. It was during her fight with her arch-enemy that Cassandra learned she had inherited her father's lightning powers. With the threat of Genocide still present, Cassandra has drastically changed her ways and fights against the forces of evil as the new Wonder Woman.

Cassandra has formed many bonds after changing her snobbish ways; particularly a friendly rivalry with Artemis of Bana-Mighdall. She has also devoted a romantic interest with Conner Kent, the current Superman.

**Flash: **Bart Allen, grandson of the second Flash, worked under the name of Impulse as the sidekick of Wally West, the third Flash. But after a conflict with Inertia, Wally was gravely injured in battle, forcing Bart to temporarily take up the mantle of the Flash. After witnessing Bart's heroism against Inertia, Wally felt that it was time to step down and allow Bart to take up the position he was born to inherit. Now fully christened as the new Flash, Bart uses his superhuman speed to take down evil and have a little fun along the way.

Though he was a sidekick himself for a time, it is now Bart's turn to mentor the next generation. A couple years following Bart's ascension to the Flash, Wally West's wife, Linda Parks, gave birth to twin children: Iris and Jai West – both are named after important members of the Flash family. But unlike the rest of her family, Iris proved to be more in tuned with the Speed Force that it drastically accelerated her age. Within a week, Iris had already exhausted her entire lifespan. In order to counteract the effects, Bart used his own connection to the Speed Force to siphon of Iris's energy to revert her back to a child. Bart has now taken Iris under his wing as the new Impulse.

Bart Allen considers himself quite the ladies man, regularly flirting with female superheroes such as Aquagirl and Artemis. While most of his relationships were amusing and short lived, Bart has shown to develop a more legitimate attraction to the Teen Titans member, Solstice, to the point of actual romance. While Solstice hints that she may return his feelings, Bart tries to keep his distance due to the dangers of their jobs and the gap between their ages

**Green Lantern: **Once Nekron had been defeated in the Blackest Night, Atrocitus, Larfleeze, Sinestro, Hal Jordon, Saint Walker, Indigo-1, and Carol Farris united their separate Corps to form the White Lantern Corps and became the New Guardians of the Universe. With their newly established Corps, the New Guardians commissioned 7 lanterns in each Space Sector – one for each of the colors. With Nekron free to revive the dead for his Black Lantern Corps, the White Lantern Corp have expanded their numbers dramatically to counteract their numbers. One such lantern was the Green Lantern of Sector 2814: Kyle Rayner.

Kyle Rayner is one of the more recent Green Lanterns personally selected by Kai-Ro, the previous Green Lantern of Sector 2814. Kyle has proven to be a more interesting Lantern as he was favorable to all 7 colors of the Emotional Spectrum, but he selected the Green Lantern Ring as his weapon of choice. Kyle is a favorable opponent against the Black Lantern Corps as his light is strong enough to banish the souls of the dead with enough concentration. Though there are some Lanterns immune to his light such as his arch-enemy, Black Hand.

Recently, Kyle has taken on a trainee from Earth named Jennifer-Lynn Hayden that has recently been inducted as a Green Lantern. But instead of taking the Green Lantern name, she has elected to call herself the Jade Lantern because "there is too much Green". Though they are teacher and trainee, Kyle and Jennifer are pushing the borders of a romantic relationship.

**Aquagirl: **Mareena and her twin sister, Hila, were the daughters of Aquaman and princesses of the undersea kingdom of Atlantis. But unlike her studious and disciplined sister, Mareena was reckless and always chasing after adventure. For that reason, she had very little friends outside her caretaker, Kaldur'ahm, and a pet tiger-shark she named Razor. But one day, Atlantis was invaded by a man calling himself Stingray and the king of Atlantis was assassinated in the midst of the chaos. After finding evidence that Aquaman was murdered by an Atlantian weapon, Mareena was quickly accused and banished from Atlantis, despite her sister's protest.

It would be some time before Mareena would come to realize that it was her sister, who had working in the shadows under the name Siren, who orchestrated the invasion and killed their father in cold blood. Hila had always known that their father had favored Mareena despite being the prodigal child and planned to take the throne by force if necessary. In a final battle for the throne, Aquagirl and Siren battled at an active undersea volcano until Mareena dealt the final blow that sent her sister falling into the chasm. Though all evidence shows that Hila is dead, Mareena knows that her sister is alive and is waiting for the perfect time to strike. With her name cleared, Mareena returned to Atlantis and was coroneted as the Queen of Atlantis.

Mareena's time on the surface world has allowed her to redevelop its bonds with Atlantis following Hila's short reign. Though she is obligated to serve her people, Mareena tends to pass the responsibility off to her caretaker and join the fight with the Justice League. Mareena has shown romantic interest in Batman, but has come to accept that he loves Spider-Girl.

**Martian Manhunter: **After J'onn J'onnz was killed by Darkseid, M'gann M'orzz blamed the Justice League for saving her mentor and left Earth to return to the empty home world of Mars. On the silent red planet, M'gann shed her false appearance as a Green Martian and accepted her White Martian heritage, no longer caring what people thought. After spending many decades alone on Mars, M'gann began to grow more cold and isolated from society, eventually become more serious in nature. But when Queen Bee's forces passed by her atmosphere on the way to Earth, M'gann contemplated returning to the blue planet to warn them of their impending danger. Ultimately, she chose to stay out of it – Earth wasn't her home anymore.

However, she was no longer given the option of remaining neutral as one of Queen Bee's slaves found and captured M'gann, viewing her as a threat. She was taken to Earth as a captive until she was released by her former lover, Superman. Though she initially elected to stay out of the battle, she was eventually persuaded by the original Batman to take up the fight. She now resides in the Justice League's Watchtower as her new home and watches over all planetary threats. Though she fights for the forces of good, she does not attempt to hide her isolation from humanity, often finding herself wondering why she chooses to protect such fragile and contradictory creatures.

**Artemis: **The granddaughter of Dick Grayson and Artemis Crock, Serah Grayson has inherited much from her grandmother including her looks and love of archery. Serah used to live in Gotham city with her little brother, Thomas Grayson (who would later become her arch-enemy, Red X), until her parents finally divorced. While Serah moved with her mother to Star City, Thomas stayed with their father in Gotham. It was during the move that Serah accidentally stumbled across her grandmother's old costume and her mother explained her heritage as the granddaughter of two of Gotham's greatest heroes. While Serah originally intended to sell the costume for a lot of money, she ended up wearing the old suit after mother's work was attacked by a rogue archer named Merlyn. By some miracle, Serah managed to defeat Merlyn, which caught the attention of her legal great-grandfather, Bruce Wayne, and publicly provided funding to Serah through Batman Inc.

After busting an underground child prostitution ring, a girl named Mia Dearden followed Artemis home and discovered her true identity as Serah Grayson. Mia threatened to expose Serah's true identity unless she personally trained her to fight. But when Serah refused, Mia left and ended up being captured by one of Artemis's enemies. Serah eventually rescued Mia, who was grateful and promised never to reveal her identity. The next day, Mia Dearden was officially adopted into the Grayson Family and became Artemis's new sidekick: Speedy.

Artemis's personality allows her to get along well with most of the superhero community and even developed a competitive rivalry with Batman. She has also had many romantic exploits involving Batman and the Flash.

**Spider-Girl: **Around the time May Parker was born, her father – Spider-Man – had lost his leg against the Green Goblin and was forced to retire from a life as a superhero. Since then, Peter and Mary-Jane had hoped to keep their daughter away from the life as a superhero. Their hopes were in vain as May had developed spider powers on her fifteenth birthday, forcing her parents to reveal the truth about her father being Spider-Man. Though they protested against May taking up the webs, she went against her parent's wishes and designed her own costume, taking up the name Spider-Girl after her father.

Though May doesn't have skills as developed as her father, she has proven her worth as a web-slinger and eventually earned her parent's faith. Along the way, she has developed many partnerships with superheroes such as American Dream, Dark Devil, and Batman. She is widely remembered as one of the founding members of the next generation of Avengers before she was expelled from the team by the other members for allowing a pair of supervillains to walk free. She was rejected by most of the superhero community since then until Batman and Artemis appeared, giving her the opportunity to join Justice League.

Spider-Girl does have a sidekick of her own, but it was kind of forced upon her. Felicity Hardy, daughter of the Black Cat, used her knowledge to deduce Spider-Girl's identity and crafted a costume inspired by the Scarlet Spider, eventually taking the mantle for herself. Though Felicity has no powers, Spider-Girl has provided her with web-slinging cartridges and trained her in acrobatics. While May does think that Felicity is a capable hero, she does not believe she is up to Justice League standards just yet.

**Wolverine: **James Howlett, currently named Logan, is a mutant from the 1880's whose accelerated healing factor has allowed him to retard his aging factor to a crawl. Having fought in three wars during his lifetime, Logan was the ideal test subject for Weapon X, which fused his bone structure with adamantium – a process Logan was only able to survive through his healing ability. But because of the process, Logan's memories were distorted to the point where he could no longer remember his own name.

Over the years, Logan has remained as Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Youngster, training generations of X-Men in honing their own mutant abilities and hopefully allowing them to successfully integrate into society. With the appearance of the Justice League, mutants have become more widely accepted into modern society. When Aquagirl and Spider-Girl arrived at the school offering Wolverine a position in the Justice League, Wolverine turned them down multiple times. But after Xavier's school was attacked by some remaining radicals, Wolverine came to realize that the world might not be fully prepared for the mutant society and joined the Justice League in hopes of bettering relationships between people and mutants.

During his lifetime, Wolverine came to have one son named Daken, but the child has unfortunately inherited his temper in addition to his powers, making it difficult for him to connect with the other heroes. Unbeknownst to him, Weapon X had secretly been working to recreate the process that made Wolverine who he is and even started working on a new project called X-23.

**Avatar: **Korra was born with the spirit of the Avatar, which allowed her to bend her will against the four elements: earth, fire, air, and water. Though she was gifted with the ultimate power in the world, the stress and responsibility of being the planet's only protector often overwhelmed her. Long ago, when a terrorist organization known as the Equalists planned to bury Republic City in a man-made earthquake, Korra and her pet polar bear-dog, Naga, sacrificed themselves by force activating the Avatar State and transforming their bodies into crystal underground, providing support to the city to keep it from collapsing. The Equalists were eventually defeated and the Avatar spirit was never seen again.

It is revealed that Korra and Naga were alive in the crystal and were awakened by Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. 1200 years later in San Francisco. Though Nick Fury intended to weaponize Korra's powers, the teenage girl proved to be too much of a wild card and ended up exposing herself to the public. With the news of a new hero in San Francisco, Nick Fury had no choice but to publicly deputize Korra as official S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. As a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, she constantly fights against various villains as long as she remains within the legal limits. Her most powerful adversary is Amon, who is revealed to have been the first to discover the chemical that would one day be called Lazarus, and the Equalists in their pursuit to eliminate Metahumans. But while the world knows her as the Avatar, she has taken up the name Korra Wavecrest, modern teenager, as her secret identity. It was some time that Korra was invited by Green Lantern to be the last member of the Justice League.

Korra has developed many relationships in S.H.I.E.L.D. including Maria Hill, who had become a big sister to the girl. Korra eventually reveals her identity to her best friend and classmate, Angelina Majors, who provides computer support under the alias Achieve – the name Oracle was taken by Delia Dennis in Gotham. Since arriving in San Francisco, Korra has discovered her bisexual nature, forming many relationships including Red X and Julie Power. She is presently married to her long-time lover, Scandal Savage, but the marriage is only legal in Argentina. Recently, Korra has also taken up training a new S.H.I.E.L.D. trainee under the name Ravager.

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><p><strong><span>Birds of Prey<span>: **Inspired by the original all-female superhero team created by the first Batgirl, the sidekicks of the Justice League work together as a separate division to their mentors, taking missions that specialize in observation, covert, and sometimes reinforcement. Unlike their predecessors of Young Justice, this group does not mind being referred to as sidekicks; even accepting is as a compliment because of their respect for their mentors. After much debate, it was decided that Batgirl would become their leader because of her years of experience and her natural ability to leader with little effort.

**Members**: Batgirl, Impulse, Speedy, Talon, Jade, Ravager


	2. Today is the Day

**Birds of Prey**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own DC, Marvel, or any other characters outside of OCs.

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><p><strong><span>Chapter One: Today is the Day<span>**

_**Neo Gotham City – December 31, 12:00 EDT**_

New Year's Eve in one of America's biggest – and in the opinion of many, the most crime infested – city in America was both an occasion of great celebration and notions of fear. Neo Gotham was well known for its huge celebrations for major holidays and the New Year was known to be the biggest party in Gotham history. From the bright lights and street wide festivals to the traditional countdown ball welcome the New Year – Spider-Girl argued that New York was better. But every year around this time, some psychotic supervillain would make a New Year Revolution to kill as many people as possible in one swoop; meaning new security was added annually. And, unfortunately, this year was no exception.

Gotham's Financial District was the center of commerce in the city and the location of Wayne-Powers Enterprises, Gotham's largest business franchise. It seemed like another semi-normal afternoon, ignoring the regular street thugs hanging around the corner, when the glass doors were inexplicably shattered in a blast of emerald fire. There was instantaneous panic as everyone either ducked for cover or high-tailed it out of the building.

Emerging from the collection of sifting smoke, charred rubble, and menacing-green flames was a man whose skin glowed in a vibrant-green manner and was completely transparent, displaying his mutilated skeleton. His attire consisted of a black and copper hazmat suit with a glass dome over his head, leaving only his hands exposed. **(Derek Powers – Blight)**

Everyone recognized Blight – arch-enemy of Gotham's greatest hero and a living nuclear reactor. Some of the smart ones had already turned and ran with their tails between their legs at the first glimpse of the glowing skeleton. But some workers were too terrified to move, one of which included the new intern working at the front desk. Blight stepped up to the whimpering woman, looking ghoulishly smug as he leaned over the desk – his hands hissed against the wooden desk.

"Excuse me, miss." Blight said politely. "I have an appointment with Mr. Wayne that is long overdue."

"Guess you'll have to reschedule, Powers."

The nuclear skeleton swiftly turned on his heels, which was swiftly met with a red and black bat-shaped boomerang to his protective dome. The tool hadn't committed any damage to Blight, but the sudden assault caught Powers by surprise and caused him to flip backwards over the desk – the intern quickly fled, screaming as loud as she could. Blight glowered dangerously as she pulled up himself using the desk for support; the wood charred at his touch.

Unsurprisingly, the man he despised more than Wayne was standing at the shattered entrance with his arms crossed and that same smug expression on his face. His suit completely black with the exception of the scarlet-red bat insignia on his chest, the visible fins on his wrists, the pointed ears on his cowl, and the silver belt strapped around his waist. **(Terrance McGinnis – Batman)**

"You really don't know when to quit, do ya, Powers." Batman smirked confidently. "I guess you would be bitter since it took you almost forty years to get Wayne Enterprises and then you ended up losing it in front of a global audience. That must have been rough."

"Oh, I'll get my company back, don't you worry about that." Blight proclaimed, collecting a mass of energy in his right hand. "First I'm gonna take care of you, and then I'm going to take care of Wayne. I'll kill two birds with one stone, Batman."

But before Blight had the chance to release his energy attack, the nuclear villain was thrown forward by a large weight dropping on his back. Powers smacked head-first into the desk, slightly cracking his protective dome, and the weight was lifted off his shoulders followed by a distinctive of flapping cloth. Blight lifted himself quick enough to see the Batman's annoying partner expertly flip through the air and land gracefully at her mentor's side. And he wasn't referring to the Spoiler brat either.

Batman's newest sidekick appeared to be closer to his age based on the height between them. Her costume was more closely resembled the Dark Knights costume than Spoiler including the full-black body, the finned wrists, and the pointy-eared cowl. The distinct differences between them were the yellow-rimmed bat insignia on her chest, the darkened eyes, the addition of a cap, and the symbolic stitches surrounding the mouth of her mask. **(Cassandra Cain-Wayne – Batgirl)**

"Oh…and Batgirl." Blight grumbled. "Typical. Always sending the girl scouts to do your dirty work, Batman."

"Whatever…you are planning…is ogre, Blight." Batgirl proclaimed slowly.

"Over." Batman corrected; Batgirl flinched at her mistake. "Whatever he is planning is over, Batgirl."

"Uh…right." Batgirl nodded.

"Oh, this is rich!" Blight laughed loudly; Batgirl groaned embarrassingly. "I heard rumors that your new sidekick was a little slow, but I didn't think she was mentally retarded! You really know how to pick 'em, Bats."

Batgirl narrowed her darkened eyes dangerously and stepped forward to thrash him, but was quickly pulled back when her mentor tugged at her cape. Just in time too as Blight tossed a sphere of searing-green flames at the area where she was previously standing. His first attempt failed, Blight filled his hands with a clustered of emerald flames and tossed them in the direction of the dynamic duo. The Dark Knights quickly punched their fists to the high ceiling, releasing the grappling lines hidden in the forearms of their suits. When the claws latched on to the ceiling, Batman and Batgirl quickly tugged back before they were propelled upwards, barely dodging the fireballs at the last second.

With a grunt of annoyance, the glowing skeleton reignited his hands and started lobbing the flames in the general area of the Dynamic Duo. The bats were fortunate to dodge the oddly-colored fireballs while in midair before unlatching their suits from the grappling lines, allowing them to land safely onto the second floor. The Batman and his protégée quickly ducked behind the low wall railing as Blight started bombarding them with green flames. But despite the dangerous situation they were in, Batman didn't appear the slightest bit worried as he started digging around his belt.

"Sorry we had to put the trip on hold, Cass." Batman apologized, shrugging in his partner's direction. "I know how important today is for you. Spoiler's been waiting for this for a while now."

"It is…all right." Batgirl replied slowly, flinching as another fireball exploded over their heads. "But…I would like…to harry this…up."

"Hurry, Cass." Batman corrected. "The word you're looking for is hurry."

"That, too." Batgirl nodded.

Snickering slightly under his breath, the Dark Knight finally found what he was looking for and revealed a cluster of silver-plated pellets from his utility belt. Batman waited for the briefest moment when Blight would slowly display an opening in his attacks, allowing him the opportunity to jumped from his hiding place and throw the pellets in his direction. Blight watched curiously at the small capsules snapped against his hands until he realized that they were flash frozen in the blink of an eye. This wasn't a problem; he could just heat his hands and break free. But the opportunity eluded him before Batgirl dived from her perch and swiped her foot against Blight's protective dome, shattering the glass upon impact.

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><p><em><strong>Star City –December 31, 9:01 PDT<strong>_

Star City wasn't as bad as Gotham or Bludhaven, but it was well known to be the home of several criminal underworld gangs that had been driven out by Batman or Spoiler. And even though they no longer had to fear the wrath of the Bat Family, they had a new adversary to deal with. One who was learning from example had tried to make a flashy entrance in Star City's Tinder-Smith Garden Arena, home of the Star City Mercenaries – maybe he wasn't a hockey fan. It had only been moments earlier when the stadium was crowded by widespread hockey fans until the match was unexpected interrupted by a blast of purple flames.

The originator was standing high above in the rafters – only a flicker of purple flames spotted in the shadows. The newcomer jumped down from the ceiling and stomped into the center of the hockey rink, fracturing the ice and causing the players to lose their balance. The intruder was a hulking man in what appeared to be a black and white containment suit where the only thing visible was his deteriorated skull, which was coated in unnaturally colored purple flames. **(Joseph Martin – Atomic Skull)**

As the audience naturally stampeded out of the stadium like a herd of frightened animals, Atomic Skull thrust his hands to the electronic scoreboard and blasted the monitors with a pillar of purple flames. As the fractured around was showed in sparks and glass, the flame-headed psychopath bellowed proudly at his work. That was…until two pairs of colored arrow heads – green and red – stabbed against the front of his containment suit and ignited in a brief explosion. The Atomic Skull was sent flailing backwards into the wall, slamming his flaming cranium through the paneling.

"I'm not a big fan myself, but aren't you going a little overboard?"

The Atomic Skull sneered indulgently, ripping his flaming head through the wall and glaring at his attacker. A woman in her late teens with golden-blond hair tied into a low ponytail grinned at the poor supervillain, acting like this was a game rather than a fight. Her costume consisted of a moss-green V-line mask, a moss-green midriff shirt with a lime-green arrow on the front, elbow-length fingerless gloves, a band on her right arms, and moss-green pants with lime-green lining. She also had black pads on her knees, black combats boots, and a pouch strapped to her left thigh. As an archer, she naturally carried a green compact bow with a similarly colored quiver stocked with arrows. **(Serah Grayson – Artemis)**

Standing next to her was the archer's young protégée, who looked roughly pre-teen. Her costume was roughly much simpler than her mentor's: a scarlet-red body suit with golden bands on her forearms and knees, the traditional golden arrow insignia on her chest, and a golden cape with a hood thrown over her head. She also wore a black domino mask over her eyes and a small strand of golden hair poked out from underneath her hood. Like her teacher, she carried a red compact bow and a quiver of arrow beneath her cape. **(Mia Dearden-Grayson – Speedy)**

"Finally." Atomic Skull said gratefully, filling his palms with purple flames. "I was wondering what a guy had to do to get a little attention around here."

"If you wanted our attention, maybe we should invest on our own Arrow Signal." Speedy suggested, jumping away to the side to avoid a flying fireball. "That would be so cool. We could be like Batman."

"If Batman has one, there is no way in Hell we're getting a signal." Artemis said finally, earning a depressive moan from her protégée. The green archer quickly equipped her bow with two arrows, firing them at the flame-headed villain. "Besides, a search light in the sky isn't exactly the most discreet way to catch villains."

"But it's still cool." Speedy argued, firing an arrow from behind the seats.

The green archer rolled her eyes as she ducked a violet fireball – sometimes there was just no arguing with the logic on an eleven year-old girl with a superhero fixation. Pulling another trick arrow from her quiver, Artemis rolled into view and released the drawstring when the Atomic Skull wasn't looking. Unfortunately, the lack of eyes didn't mean he was blind and immediately turned to incinerate the arrow with his brightly-colored fire. The radioactive supervillain gathered another cluster of fireballs in his palms and tossed them into the air, letting them fall in random directions. The pyro spheres scattered an exploded in every direction of the sports arena, leaving Artemis and Speedy to scramble for safety.

When all was said and done, the arena went deathly silent – clouds of purple smoke cluttered the stands. The Atomic Skull searched left and right, seeing and hearing no traces of the Robin Hood heroes possibly surviving the impact. Oddly enough, the flame-headed supervillain looked worried for a moment, almost as if he had messed up somehow. His attitude quickly turned around when Artemis and her protégée dashed through the smoke clouds, appearing unharmed, and simultaneously released their arrows. The flame-headed barely had a moment to gasp in shock before the steel-plated projectiles slammed against his forehead. The Atomic Skull was thrust into an instant state of unconscious as he defeated body slid into the goal post at the end of the arena – the horn blared in the background.

"I always thought he was a bit soft in the head." Artemis joked, replacing her bow against her quiver.

"Ok, we beat the bad guy." Speedy said excitedly, clasping her hands and turning to her mentor pleadingly. "Can we go now, please?"

"What's the hurry, Speedy?" Artemis laughed at her protégée's childish games.

"You know why." Speedy said eagerly, practically bouncing on her feet. "It's the moment I've been waiting for since I became a superhero. Today is the day."

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><p><em><strong>Los Angeles – December 31, 9:02 PDT<strong>_

Los Angeles, home of swimming pools, movies stars, fame, fortune, and the occasion mutant vs. mutant fighting. While most of the average people – meaning people who could afford to live their – were going about their ways, they remained blissfully ignorant to what was happing up at the famous Hollywood sign. There was a brief flash of light before someone was shot through the hole in the letter "O" and plowed a ten foot trail in the dirt. Once the dust had cleared away, the person was actually revealed to be an unfortunate teenage girl with short dark-hair as she steadily picked herself up. It was almost difficult to tell who she was due to was due to her costume: a yellow hazmat suit with black outlines forming a radioactive symbol on her chest and yellow helmet with a glass visor. **(Jennifer Takeda – Hazmat)**

The young Hazmat shook her head clear of any dizziness, quickly turning her attention to the two heroes standing at the top of the "W" with her eyes narrowed dangerously. The first of them was a grizzly-looking man with unnaturally pointed teeth and, in her personal opinion, very hairy arms. His costume was all bright-yellow with navy-blue texture on the sides and shoulder, which also had bright-yellow stripes and a bright-red on the left side of his chest. He also wore navy-blue boots and gloves, a golden-yellow belt, and a bright-yellow mask with navy-blue devil curls over the eyes. **(James Howlett/Logan – Wolverine)**

But while the bright-yellow wild man had a more kindly disposition towards the radioactive girl, his partner didn't share the same expression of kindness. He looked roughly into the stage of adulthood and possessed intricate covering the left side of his arm. His costume was roughly close to that of Wolverine; only the color scheme was revered for a dirt-brown and copper tone. And another distinct difference between them was that while Wolverine had three metal claws ripping from his knuckles, the other man had two bone claws extracted from his knuckles and one from his wrist **(Akihiro – Daken)**

"Hey, go easy on her." Wolverine warned, waving his claws to his partner. "She's just a kid."

"She's in the way!" Daken growled impatiently. "If we didn't have a little side trip for this stupid brat, we would already be there!"

"Ya need to control that temper of yours, bub." Wolverine said strictly, looking very surprised at himself. "Wow, did I just say that?"

"Look out!" Daken warned.

Daken ducked away in time, but Wolverine was still left ponder before he was blasted off the sign by a bright-green beam to the chest – that was gonna sting a bit. With the big man temporarily disabled, Hazmat turned her sights on Daken and shot out to hands forward, creating radioactive beams of light from her palms. The grizzly man dodged to the right to avoid the first shot, flipped backwards to avoid the second, and simply ducked down from the third aimed for his head. This kid didn't even know how to use her powers properly; that just ticked him off. After avoiding a fourth blast aimed for his feet, the dark-colored beast made a dash for the teenage mutant – his claws digging into the dig along the way.

Hazmat seemed to panic for a moment and randomly flailed her hands ahead, hoping to get a lucky shot. But Daken was able to effortlessly dive between the two radioactive rays and find a clear path to the young mutant. Once she was within his reach, Daken slashed his claws upwards, effectively leaving a large rip in her suit and helmet. As she felt backwards in surprise, the teenaged mutant slammed her head into a large rock, effectively knocking her unconscious. His prey defeated and out cold, Daken wasn't nearly satisfied with how the fight had ended – she interrupted a very important day. With a soft growl, the dark beast stabbed her claws to aim for Hazmat's chest…only to be intercepted by Wolverine's metallic claws.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, bub?" Wolverine leered, pushing his partner way from the radioactive mutant. "That's not the way the Justice League handles their problems. She's not evil, just a little misguided little girl."

"Whatever." Daken scoffed, retracting his claws. "You've gotten soft in your old age."

"Maybe I have." Wolverine replied, gently lifting Hazmat into his arms. "But that's the difference between me and the monsters I fight."

"Whatever, let's just go." Daken scowled. "Today's the day."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Central City – December 31, 11:03 CDT<strong>_

Like every day in Central City, there was always some kind of excitement going around – pretty fitting place for an excitable guy like the Flash. This time, the location of choice was the famous Central City Flash Museum; a dedication to all the Flashes from Jay Garrick to Barry Allan to Wally West. And one day, a shrine to Bart Allan would be erected in these very halls, but that's getting a little ahead.

It was an average visit to the Flash Museum until the monument depicting the original Impulse was unexpectedly blasted through the window – Bart was not particularly happy about that. As the throngs of people were fleeing the building as quickly as possible, the source of the disturbance continued his rampage through the museum, crushing everything dedicated to the scarlet speedster. The man in question wore starry suit with golden lining on his sides, around his face, and wore matching golden boots. **(Benjamin Krullen – Reactron)**

The strangely-suited supervillain pressed his hands against the gilded statue of the first Flash, watching with glee as the monument literally melted in his palms. The radioactive supervillain was moving on to eradicate the next statue when he was suddenly knocking off his feet by two blurs – one red and yellow, the other red and white. As the villain quickly moved to his feet, the twin blurs were already circling around him in typical fashion. Reactron scowled underneath his mask – he didn't need to see them to know who they were. The first was a young man where a full-body red suit with yellow lightning bolts on his wrists and waist, the bright-yellow knee-length boots, and the white marker on his chest with the symbol lightning bolt. **(Bartholomew Allan II – Flash)**

His young partner in crime-fighting was a little girl – probably not even ten years-old – with vibrant-red hair tied into two long pigtails by lightning bolt hairclips. Her costume was a lot more complicated than her mentors: a red strip running down the center and the inside of her legs, white segments covering her sides, arms, and the outside of the legs, and a lightning bolt pattern separating the two colors. She also wore scarlet-red boots, matching fingerless gloves with straps, and a scarlet-red mask with yellow lenses built-in over her eyes **(Iris West II – Impulse)**

As the speeding partners circled endlessly around Reactron, the starry-costumed villain attempted to blast them with the radioactive beam emitting from his palms, but had very little success nailing his target.

"I don't get this guy's problem is." Flash commented, ducking another radioactive blast. "He's not even one of our villains. Come to think of it, shouldn't he be getting his butt kicked by Superman or Supergirl right about now?"

"Who cares?" Impulse shouted back, jumping a blast aimed for her feet. "Let's get this over with quick before we're late!"

"If you feel that strongly, go for it, kid." Flash offered like a gentleman.

With a gleeful smile on her face, Impulse circled around the radioactive supervillain until she was directly behind him and curving around towards his direction. Reactron was too focused on the scarlet blur whizzing around him that he failed to notice the younger sidekick sliding across the polished floor until she crashed into the back of his legs. The radioactive supervillain fell on his back from Impulse's kindergarten tactics as the little superheroine kick-flipped back to her feet. Reactron started to push himself back up by his elbows, but was consequently knocked back down by a quick kick to the face courtesy of the friendly neighborhood Flash – Spider-Girl was going to bill him for that later.

"Nice work, kid." Flash complimented, clapping his hands victoriously.

"Can we go now? Can we go now?" Iris jabbered hyperactively, practically bouncing in her mentor's face. "Please? Please? Please?"

"Whoa, whoa, settle down there, squirt." Flash chuckled amusingly, prying the excitable off himself. "We have plenty of time to get there after we drop of old glow face at the police station."

"But I wanna go there now!" Impulse whined childishly. "I've been waiting for this moment my whole life!"

"You only just heard about it last week." Flash countered.

"I've been waiting for this moment for a whole week!" Impulse improvised. "The day I have been waiting for is here! Today's the day!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Metropolis – December 31, 14:00 EDT<strong>_

Metropolis – a famous city for many things including the home of the world famous Superman and his arch-enemy, Lena Luthor. It is also the sight of the Apokoliptian invasion headed by Darkseid that eventually led to the disbanding of the original Justice League. But now, the famous city was home to the earthbound headquarters of the new Justice League: The Metrotower. Settled in the center of the city, the Metrotower stood stores high even above the Daily Planet building – though Batman always felt it was a little much for such a small group. A small park for tourists was located behind the tower, two fountains were settled into the front on either side, and placed directly at the base of the headquarters was a set of bronze statue dedicated the founders of the original Justice League from Aquaman to the Martian Manhunter.

Batgirl was wide-eyed at the very height of the Metrotower – she had been to many cities and seen many cities in her seven years of solitary travels and she had never seen a more impressive structure. Speedy occupied herself studying the statue of the original founders, feeling kind of disappointed that a Green Arrow monument hadn't been erected. Daken just stood next to Wolverine as Batman and Artemis wrangled in their starry-eyed protégées.

"Today's the day." Batman smiled, placing a hand on Batgirl's shoulder.

"Welcome to the Metrotower, kids." Wolverine grunted.

"The Justice League's central base on Earth." Artemis informed. "And our secondary headquarters next to the Justice League Watchtower."

"Will we…get a chance…to see…the uh…wat…wat…" Batgirl struggled worriedly.

"Don't push yourself, Batgirl." Batman said comfortingly. "Sorry, but you guys aren't ready to see the Watchtower just yet. Even the new members have to wait a while before they are allowed to go up there. But don't worry, I promise I'll personally give you guys a tour of the Watchtower…when you're ready."

"Sounds like a rip of if I ever heard one." Daken grunted.

"Just be grateful that we even let you into the Metrotower." Wolverine scolded. "A lot of people have been trying to join the Justice League, when we don't just invite anyone in our little group. We only take the best."

"Like that Shock kid or that Spoiler brat?" Daken retorted. Before he even realized what had occurred, the darker version of Wolverine felt a pressure in his left shoulder and seized up. "What…the…hell…"

"Spoiler…is good…hero." Batgirl glared menacingly, jabbing her fingers further into Daken's shoulder. "Take…it…back."

"Easy there, Batgirl." Batman reprimanded, pulling his protégée's hand away. "You don't need to stoop to his level."

"I am…sorry." Batgirl said earnestly. "He made me…angry."

"Yeah, well, he does that to a lot of people." Batman said; Daken huffed indigently. "Just ignore him."

"Wow, things are already getting heavy and we haven't even walked through the doors yet." Artemis commented, patting Speedy on the head. "It's a good thing I've got a sidekick that knows when to be good."

"I kinda expected Impulse to make it worse." Speedy commented. "Speaking of which, where is…"

"OUT OF THE WAY!"

The heroes turned and quickly jumped out of the way as a red and white blur whizzed past them, stopping only when it had successfully flipped into the fountain and submerged into the water. Just as the Flash arrived, Impulse splashed surfaced and splashed her way to the edge. She giggled bashfully and scratched her head embarrassingly under all the stares of her superhero buddies.

"Still have to work on the breaks." Impulse said jokingly.

"Well, that's one way to make and entrance." Flash laughed, plucking his sidekick out of the water and drying her off with a quick vibrated shake. "We're not late, are we? Impulse was throwing a fit back at Central City."

"I was not!" Impulse pouted, trying to squirm out of her mentor's hands.

"No, we were just about to go inside." Artemis stated, pulling her partner to the entrance. Batman, Wolverine, and Flash gathered their own sidekicks and stood at the entryway of the Justice League's headquarters. "This is it, kids." Daken grunted at the commented. "And over-arrogant, self-absorbed pricks. You're first official day as junior members of the Justice League. Ya ready for this?"

"Born ready." Speedy smiled confidently.

* * *

><p><strong>Please, read and review.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong><span>Hero Profile<span>**

**Name: **Batgirl  
><strong>Real Name: <strong>Cassandra Cain-Wayne  
><strong>Age: <strong>17**  
>Relatives: <strong>David Cain (Father), Lady Shiva (Mother), Bruce Wayne (Adopted father), Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake (Adopted brothers)  
><strong>MentorPartners(s): **David Cain (formerly), Batman, Spoiler  
><strong>Affiliation(s): <strong>League of Assassins (Formerly), Bat Family, Birds of Prey  
><strong>PowersAbilities:  
><strong>- Peak Human Conditioning  
>- Master Martial Artist<br>- Master Assassin Training  
>- Advance Body Reading Ability<br>- Resistant to most toxins  
><strong>Notes:<br>- **Overly Severe Dyslexia  
>- Most experienced<br>- Guilt-ridden History  
>- Unusually Large Appetite<br>- Emotionally Unstable


	3. First Mission

**Birds of Prey**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own DC, Marvel, or any other characters outside of OCs.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter Two: First Mission<span>**

_**Metropolis – December 31, 14:52 EDT**_

Today was the day – their first step to becoming full-fledged members of the Justice League. Now the girls had no delusions of being invited into the Justice League today, but it was exciting to see the inside of the Justice League's Earth-based headquarters. Daken, on the other hand, didn't try to hide his dissatisfaction as they went along with the tour, but they tried not to let his sour mood ruin one of the best days of their lives. The Metrotower was enormous – it took Batgirl close to twenty minute to pronounce it correctly – and that was putting it mildly. Though the tower was massive on the outside, but interior only had thirty floors due to the massive amounts of space each floor used. The Metrotower had many things could contribute to the Justice League's cause including a state-of-the-art training facility, a global monitoring system, and an archive of past villains and heroes. Some of the floors were also personalized for many of its members such as Aquagirl's aquarium and Iron Man's armory – they had to lock Impulse out for security reasons.

The last stop on their tour was communications center/lounge room at the top floor of the Metrotower. The floor was relatively low-key in comparison to the rest of the tower, but it had its own charm. Ignoring the giant computer monitor and the "Authorized Personnel Only" door in the back, there were a few comfortable armchairs and a soft-cushioned couch circling around a wide coffee table in the middle of the room. There were some magazines on the table for casual reading and a refrigerator in corner of the room next to the sink and microwave. There was also a long row of bookshelves on the far right wall – Batgirl made a mental note to avoid them. But the best part about the floor was the view – a wide window was placed in the front of the room to allow them the best view of Metropolis possible.

While Batgirl and Daken stayed close to their mentors, Speedy raced over to the window with gleeful expression and Impulse dashed over to raid the fridge.

"Oh, wow!" Speedy said in awe, pressing her hands against the glass. "This is amazing! You guys are so lucky to work here!"

"Hands off the glass, Mia." Artemis chastised, pulling her protégée back to the couch. "Jarvis has to clean that up and it's bad enough he has to work at his age. Let's try not to make things more difficult for him." Speedy nodded in understanding. "But you're right; it is a pretty good view. But the one at the Watchtower is even better."

"Yeah, this is where the Justice League goes to relax after a hard day's work." Flash informed, already taking the loveseat and kicking his feet up on the table. "Just make yourselves at home – Irey already is."

"Huh?" Impulse blurted; her cheeks crammed with different kinds of food.

"Do not…talk with your…mouth full." Batgirl said slowly, looking slightly disgusted. As she looked around the room, her look of disappointment was visible by the slump in her shoulders. "This is…nice. But where is…"

"KYAA!"

Most of the heroes present jumped at the shriek – Daken actually ripped opened his claws with a sharp snarl. For a split second, everyone witnessed as a purple blur dropped from their ceiling and dived after Batgirl. But the female Dark Knight proved to be much quicker and grasped the attacker by the wrist before flinging him to the ground on his back. Once the confusion had passed, everyone looked down at the dazed superhero groaning on the floor, rubbing her sore spine. The attacker was a girl roughly a year older than Batgirl wearing a deep-purple full-body costume complete with a matching cape and hood. She also wore dark-blue boots and gloves, a black utility belt with silver capsules, a black band across her chest held by a silver ring, a silver band around her left thigh, and a dark-blue mask to cover her face. **(Stephanie Brown – Spoiler)**

"Ow…" Spoiler moaned, slowly pulling herself up with her back still aching. "Well, that could have gone better."

"Spoiler…" Batgirl said shockingly, realizing that she had just attacked her best friend. "What are…you doing? You should not…sneak up…one me…like that. You know…what I do."

"I wanted to surprise you." Spoiler stated, groaning slightly as she took a seat. "But I kinda forgot that you were a little jumpy and I pretty much deserved that. Still…" She glanced excitedly at the girls. "This is the big day for ya – your first step to joining the Justice League. I remember when Batman invited me to the Metrotower a couple years – it was so excited and nervous that I didn't get any sleep and ended up crashing in the Boom Tube transporter. Next thing I know, I'm waking up in some mud pond in Africa."

"Oh god." Daken groaned over the laughter of the others. "This is the quality of heroes they let into the Justice League. May as well invite Ambush Bug and Booster Gold to join the League, too."

"What's his problem?" Speedy glared.

"Just ignore him." Spoiler said coolly. "He was born with a stick shoved up his..."

"If I can have your attention." The room silenced at the eerie tone of an unseen woman. "We can get down to business."

Impulse was still cleaning out the fridge when a pale-white face rippled through the surface of the appliance, causing the speedy minor to fall back with a shriek. The redhead crawled at the speed of sound behind her mentor – earning a couple of snickers from her friends – as the specter fully emerged from the wall, shutting the fridge behind her. It was definitely a woman, but with unnaturally pale skin, scarlet-red eyes, and completely bald with the exception of the ponytail of fiery-orange hair. She wore a snow-white suit that split to cover her cleavage, an azure-blue skirt suspended by a red belt, azure-blue boots, a pair of red bands on each of her biceps, and an azure-blue cape to cover herself. (1) **(M'gann M'orzz – Martian Manhunter)**

"Hey!" Impulse snapped, pointing an accusing finger to the White Martian. "Not cool, man! Not cool!"

"Someone had to stop you from eating us out of stock and barrel." Martian Manhunter proclaimed monotonously.

"Did you get everything?" Batman asked suddenly.

"Yes." Martian Manhunter confirmed, floating to the table in the middle of the room. Waving her hands across the air, a holographic screen appeared above them displaying four profiles – three criminal mug shots and a high school photo. "Blight, Atomic Skull, Reactron, and Hazmat – four supervillains with the ability to generate nuclear energy."

"Three supervillains and a confused kid." Wolverine argued.

"Whatever." Martian Manhunter waved uncaringly. "Batman was right to be suspicious about today's occurrences. Four supervillains with exactly similar powers attacking on the same day in four different locations while known members of the Justice League were present in the vicinity. And ignoring the different time zones, I can confirm that they all attacked at exactly the same moment. This cannot be a mere coincidence."

"Yeah, Blight wasn't his usual arrogant self." Batman commented. "He could have done a lot worse, but it looked like he was holding back. It's like he wanted to be beaten."

"Skull head did look worried when he thought he killed us." Speedy noted.

"So you think the four of they were working together and lost on purpose." Wolverine summarized. "But why?"

"I don't know." Batman said with uncertainty. "I think the best course of action is to…"

"Raven to Justice League!" At that moment, the side image of a woman with bright-white eyes and her face obscured by a deep-violet hood appeared on the side of the screen. "Raven to Justice League! Brother Blood and the Church of Blood have located the Jewel of Skath and are intending to break the wards containing Trigon's seal! I need all the help I can get!"

"Raven, send all data on the seal's location." Batman commanded urgently over the intercom. "All Justice League members coordinate around Raven's location. We can't let Brother Blood free Trigon!" Earning a nod from the shrouded sorceress, the Dark Knight whipped the hologram away and confronted his teammates, who were standing in attention. "Everyone, we are dealing with an Omega-Level threat. Trigon the Terrible – Raven's father – is an interdimensional demon capable of destroying hundreds of worlds. Long ago, Raven managed to seal away her father's power, but now Brother Blood is trying to free Trigon from his prison. If that happens, it's the Apokoliptian War all over again."

"Then instead of talking about it, let's move!" Artemis interrupted, jumping over the couch. She could feel the Dark Knight glaring a hole in the back of her head. "You wanna keep frowning or do you wanna save the universe."

"Sweet." Speedy whispered to Impulse as they followed their mentors to the unknown doorway that was labeled "Authorized Personnel Only. "First a tour of the Metrotower and now a mission to save the universe. Could this day get any better?"

"Got any cheese pizza or bacon burgers in that thing?" Impulse questioned, referring to her quiver. The archer raised a brow to her younger superhero friend. "What? I have a super metabolism."

Ignoring the every hungry speedster, Speedy followed close behind her green-clad mentor until they stopped in front of the forbidden entrance. Speedy and Impulse looked ready to explode from pure excitement, but Batgirl and Daken managed to maintain perfect composure – years of discipline go a long way. Once at the door, the small computer node hanging from the overhead activated and scanned the different members of the Justice League in a menacing-red light – Iron Man's design obviously.

"**Recognize!**" The computer announced. "**Batman – 02! Artemis – 08! Wolverine – 12! Flash – 04! Spoiler – 15! Martian Manhunter – 07! Access granted! Boom Tube transport functions now enabled!**"

With everyone's identities verified, the doors opened automatically to allow access to the departing Justice League members. Inside was rippling golden portal contained by a silver ring known as the Boom Tube, an interplanetary transport tube that could travel anywhere in the world. Stronger, faster, and more functional that Zeta Beams – the Boom Tube a gift from the New Gods for defeating Darkseid years back. No longer able to contain her excitement, Impulse did what she always does and jumped headlong into the rippling vortex. Unfortunately, the Flash managed to catch her by the nape of her costume, holding her feet above the ground with a brow raised beneath his costume.

"And what do you think you're doing?" Flash questioned interestingly.

"Going to…save the universe." Impulse answered meekly like a child being scolded.

"Uh-uh! No way!" Artemis denied immediately. "This is Justice League business! We can't have sidekicks running around in the middle of a dangerous battle! This is Trigon we're dealing with!"

"But we can help!" Speedy argued.

"You stay out of this!" Batman said in a definite tone, causing many of the sidekicks to flinch. "I'm sorry I snapped at you guys, but you're just not ready for this kind of serious mission just yet. Trigon is as much of a threat as Darkseid or Dormammu. If he broke free, we can't risk you guys getting hurt – you're just not trained enough."

"But…you have trained us." Batgirl said softly, glancing away shyly under her mentor's gaze. "You taught us…to fight…to survive…to do what is…right. I…understand…that we might…not be ready…for this mission…but there must…be something…that we…can do. If…we cannot…use our gifts…to help…then what…is the point…of teach us?"

"I…uh…" Batman stammered clueless. How was he supposed to argue with that?

"Can you give us a moment?" Artemis requested.

Before he realized what happened, the Dark Knight was being dragged by his costume's ear to the corner by the green archer. Artemis gestured the rest of the Leaguers to huddle around, beginning a heated discussion between the members. Batgirl, Speedy, Impulse, and Daken waited on the other side of the room, watching the debate with interest. Speedy couldn't understand what they were saying, but she had a sneaking suspicion that Batgirl understood every word. She heard from Artemis that the Dark Knights female counterpart had the ability to read body language to a point where she could understand what another person was thinking. The Dark Knightess probably already knew the outcome before the League did.

Discussions were short – probably because of the urgency with Trigon – but it didn't take long before the Justice League members came to an agreement. Martian Manhunter and Spoiler stayed close to the Boom Tube transporter while the rest of them confronted their protégées.

"All right, we'll give you a mission." Batman announced; he waited until Speedy and Impulse were done cheering before continuing. "But it's not the Trigon mission. As we said before, it's way too dangerous for you. So we've decided to give you another mission."

"The Justice League has received intelligence about a experimentation facility near Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada." Artemis informed, constructing a holographic file from the air. She handed it to her protégée, who immediately started flipping through the pages. "The facility was supposedly abandoned for years, but two weeks ago, the Watchtower picked up a faint electrical charge coming from the place. We have reason to believe that someone may be using to continue the research going on there."

"Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada?" Impulse repeated curiously. "Is that the place where they did…?"

"Project Weapon X." Wolverine answered with a soft growl. "The same place where they did this…" He unsheathed his adamantium claws with a snarl. "To me. I thought I trashed the place last time I was there, but apparently they found a way to get things runnin' again. I was planning to investigate with Daken later, but we think you kids can handle this one."

"Thank you…very much." Batgirl bowed gratefully. "We will…not let…you down."

"Now hold up there, bub!" Daken interrupted, leering angrily at the Leaguers. "So that's it! You don't want us getting in the way, so you saddle us up with some crappy investigation mission!" Batgirl covered Speedy's ears, who covered Impulse's ears. "And what's this shit about me not being ready! I'm more than ready! In fact, I'm the oldest one here next to Logan, so don't give me that bull about not being ready!"

"Yes, you are older than almost everyone here." Wolverine grunted. "But you still act like a teenager with angst problems and you constantly argue with teammates and authorities. Unless you learn to get your act together, you're not ready for the Justice League. Maybe working with these girls will teach you a thing or two about working with others."

"And have them drag me down to their level? Forget it." Daken scoffed, turning on his heels towards the door. "You used to be one of the toughest guys in history, but times have made you soft. I think it's you who needs to learn a thing or two, _**dad**_."

And with that comment, the dark Wolverine left the Metrotower – a pregnant pause of awkward silence followed his departure.

"That could have gone better." Flash commented jokingly.

"Word to the wise." Wolverine groaned, rubbing his eyes in irritation. "Never have kids you don't know about."

"Words to live by." Artemis smirked.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Cold Lake, Alberta – December 31, 13:23 MDT<strong>_

The winters in Alberta could be a dangerous territory to a group of girls fresh from the states – especially for an archer from the warm California. The dead forest trees expanded stretched in every direction, the pure untouched snow covered fields traveled for miles at a time, and the white capped mountains shadowing them from above. The unknown facility they were searching for was apparently built into the closest mountain, definitely giving off the feeling of abandonment. But even in this cold, heartless environment, there was still evidence of life in the area.

Soldiers dressing in full winter camouflage armed to the teeth were trudging through the deep snow surrounding the facility. Yeah, there was definitely nothing going on around here. Each of the unknown security force was distributed at points that would give them perfect visual of the area and be able to discern any potential intruders – whether it is human or animal. But in all likelihood, what idiot would even try to sneak into an abandoned building in the middle of nowhere during the coldest day of the year? But as one soldier patrol around the border of the forest…

"Ow!"

The winter soldier jumped immediately with his gun loaded, swinging back and forth to find something to shoot. But much to his disappointment, there was nothing in sight – it must have been the wind. With a bored sigh, the soldier kept trudging on to complete his round. A full minutes passes before the guard is out of sight when Batgirl, Speedy, and Impulse emerge from the snow, garbed in wintery versions of their standard uniforms. Batgirl's costume was altered to be completely white with a silver utility belt and an icy-blue rimmed bat signal on her chest. Speedy 's costume was colored white with silver bands over her forearms and shins, but replaced her cape with a snow-white parka with the furry hood thrown over her head – her weapons were also painted to match the environment. The red in Impulse's costume was shifted to pale-gray, the yellow bolts changed to an icy-blue, and she wore a woolly hat to cover her bright red hair.

"Way to go, genius." Speedy hissed in a low tone, dropping to the ground on her stomach. "You nearly got us busted."

"He stepped on my hand." Impulse pouted, joining the others on the ground.

"We're just lucky that Bats gave us this Polar Stealth." Speedy commented, tugging at the sleeve of her jacket. "By the way, how did Batman know we would be needing this tech anyway? We just found out the mission an hour ago."

"Because...he is...Batman." Batgirl said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. The Dark Knightess peered into her binoculars, examining the supposedly rundown facility and the horde of guards standing between them and their target. "Twenty-four men…fully armed…with military-grade…weapons. Total border…is two miles…which equals…to a four-hundred and forty feet…visual radius…for each."

"She can't even spell the word cat and yet she's a math quiz." Impulse commented softly.

"Polar tech…should con…con…" Batgirl stammered hesitantly.

"Conceal us." Speedy offered.

"Yes." Batgirl nodded. "Polar Stealth…will do that…to a limit. If we…are seen…we will…be swarmed…in a matter…of minutes."

"I can just zip over and knock them out before they even see me." Impulse suggested.

"No." Batgirl said quickly. "Snow is…too deep. It will…slow you down…and...kick up. They will see…you coming."

"Then we're just gonna have to go in all stealthy-like." Speedy said excitedly, pushing up to her knees after checking that the coast was clear. "Follow my lead, girls."

"Why do we have to follow your lead?" Impulse questioned.

"Because I'm the leader, duh." Speedy said obviously.

"When did that happen?" Impulse snapped angrily. "I would be a way better leader than you!"

"You?" Speedy snorted. "You're just an eight year-old kid."

"So, you're only eleven." Impulse argued.

This lead to a heated debate of leadership between the two preteens – an argument that Batgirl wisely took no part in. She was focused on the matter at hand: finding a way into the former Weapon X facility and uncovering any hints of the project being recreated. Though the idea of another Weapon X seemed highly unlikely. From what she read – meaning Batman read it for her – the only one to have survived the process was Wolverine due to his regenerative healing factor. There were only a limited number of people with a healing ability on the same level as Logan and all of them were presently accounted for by the Justice League. If they were working on a new project, the girls needed to uncover it quickly – she promised not to disappoint her mentor. But unknown to the three girls, the forest was riddled with security cameras hidden in the trees – one of which was locked on the Dark Knightess.

* * *

><p>Deep within the former Weapon X Project laboratories, work was still needed to be done. The solution to adamantium decomposition and its effectiveness to biological merging was still a controversial problem – one this scientist intended to resolve. Doctor Zander Rice had spent many years of his life researching on the Weapon X Project ever since his father worked in the original experiment that made Wolverine what he was now. But there was one thing that was constantly interfering with his plans: his sympathetic research partner, Doctor Sarah Kinney. The woman was without a doubt a gifted geneticist and a talented scientist, but her moral integrity was a continual annoyance that hindered their progress. Her emotional attachment to their latest experiment was going to set them back for years if these practices continued. But she had a purpose and she would only remain as long as she served it.<p>

The partnering researchers were in the middle of studying their project on biological bonding when they were interrupted when two of their hired forces walked into the room – once again unannounced. The first of them was a woman with, in most men's opinion, a bombshell body and wavy-blond hair that touched down to her waist. Her uniform was mostly blue with red and white stripes around her abdomen, a white star stamped on her chest, and a white capital 'A' one her mask. She always wore red knee-length boots and match elbow-length gloves with star disks attached. Her weapon of choice was a red, white, and blue shield with a white star in the center. **(Shannon Carter – American Dream)**

The other was a dark-skinned woman with shoulder-length black hair and venomous-green eyes. Her attire consisted of a silvery-gray unitard with black-striped siding, a hole over her bosom, and three silver stripes on her leggings. She also wore a pair of silver boots with grey cuffs, a pair of black elbow-length gloves with white bands, and a black belt with a golden clasped buckle. **(Kimura)**

"What did I tell you about barging in American Dream?" Dr. Rice questioned annoyed, staring into the microscope.

"To…stop?" American Dream replied slowly.

"And yet, here you are." Dr. Rice sneered, wheeling himself around to blond bombshell. "You better have a good excuse this time."

"Security footage has picked up three intruders within the perimeter of the base." American Dream explained, constructing a holographic image of the footage in the air. "All three are in costume, but not that we could classify. They all appear to be wearing winter camouflage. But just by their height and body shape, we have estimated it to be a teenager accompanied by two minors – all female."

"It appears a couple of girl scouts have lost their way." Dr. Rice jeered, returning to his work. "Kimura, please be a dear and eliminate those brats, would you? I already have enough problems with children these days."

"You can't do that!" Dr. Kinney exclaimed sharply; Dr. Rice and Kimura presented the same expressions of contempt. "Doctor, they're only children. Don't you think sending Kimura is a little much?"

"They're costumed freaks of nature." Dr. Rice retorted. "No doubt they are in association with the Justice League. If those superpowered monstrosities caught wind of what we are planning, everything we work for the last fourteen years would be ruined. Especially if Wolverine knew about the project."

"Bu they're still only kids." Dr. Kinney argued. "I know you enjoy the idea of killing them, but there is a more productive way. Why not send American Dream to convince them to leave? Everyone trusts American Dream – she's courteous, honest, and the leader of the Avengers. They'll listen to her." Dr. Rice only grimaced; he was always like that when he didn't get his way. "If you hurt those girls, then the Justice League will find out and they will tear this lab apart to find them."

"Fine…" Dr. Rice sighed in irritant manner. "American Dream, please show our guests the way out."

"Yes, sir." American Dream saluted before she left.

"Well, this sucks." Kimura commented disappointedly, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. "I hoping to see a little action in this boring place. There's nothing mildly entertaining to do around her…except 'playing' with that little weasel down in the X-23 vault. I tell ya, the brat has a nice pair of lungs." She stood up and casually made her way to the door. "You know what, I think I'm gonna head down there right now – maybe rips out a few of toenails and a couple strands of hair. But especially the teeth; that really sets her off."

"Leave her alone!" Dr. Kinney demanded furiously as she stood up, throwing her chair down in a clatter. Mental instincts told the good doctor that it was suicide to argue with someone like Kimura, but emotional instincts told her it was the right thing to do. "She didn't do anything to deserve this! She's just a…"

"A perfect weapon." Dr. Rice interjected coldly. "That abomination is a weapon and nothing more. And as such, that…thing needs to learn proper discipline if we are going to maintain control over her. Kimura, make sure to make today's lessons…memorable." The deadly female grinned sadistically as she walked out of the room with a spring in her step. Though the lowly geneticist was urged to stop her, she was quickly stopped in her attempts when Dr. Rice pulled her roughly by the arm. "Listen and listen good, doctor. You're only still around because the board of directors thinks you have some use for our assignments. Personally, I think your sentimental attachments to our research subjects is enough to get you fired, but the directors feel otherwise. But know this: If you keep hindering our progress, I will have to inform the board of directors that you have suffered a…unfortunate accident. Do I make myself clear."

There it was – the typical threat. Dr. Kinney wasn't foolish enough to think he wouldn't go through with it; her partner was more than willing to do whatever cruel deeds necessary to achieve his goals. Though Zander Rice prided himself as a dedicated researcher, the sadistic scientist seemed to have his own personal reasons in this. He was particularly hostile towards their latest research project, which Dr. Kinney could only do so much to prevent. The young geneticist had two choices in this matter: continue working and act like nothing happened or do the right thing and risk getting her neck snapped by Kimura.

"Yes, sir." Dr. Kinney submitted.

Oh, how her heart ached.

* * *

><p>(1) – Based on her appearance in Titans Tomorrow.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Please, read and review – just one would be nice.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong><span>Birds of Prey Profile<span>**

**Name: **Speedy  
><strong>Real Name: <strong>Mia Dearden-Grayson  
><strong>Aliases: <strong>Arrowette  
><strong>Designation: <strong>B02  
><strong>Age: <strong>11  
><strong>Relatives: <strong>Unidentified father (abandoned), Mary Grayson (Adopted Mother), Artemis (Adopted Sister), Red X (Adopted Brother), Dick Grayson, Artemis Crock-Grayson (Adopted Grandparents), Bruce Wayne (Adopted Great Grandfather)  
><strong>MentorPartner(s): **Artemis  
><strong>Affiliation(s): <strong>Team Arrow, Birds of Prey, Batman Inc.  
><strong>Occupation: <strong>Student, Volunteer nurse  
><strong>PowersAbilities:  
><strong>- Expert Marksmanship  
>- Physical Peak of Human Condition<br>- Latent Leadership Skills  
><strong>Notes:<br>**- HIV positive  
>- Most Dedicated<br>- Cool and Confident


	4. Weapon Plus

**Birds of Prey**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own DC, Marvel, or any other characters outside of OCs.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Three: Weapon Plus<strong>

_**Cold Lake, Alberta – December 31, 13:52 MDT**_

The Weapon X Facility was possibly the most secure location in all of Canada – Project Cadmus trumped them in America, so they have to settle for the next best thing. The facility was actually impressive and well maintained despite not being operated for several decades at a time. The experimentation complex had been built directly into the base of the mountain backdrop, allowing multiple levels for a wide range of tests. The people in charge of the facility had also taken the liberty of using self-sustaining energy cells to power the facility and keep them away from the prying eyes of any…unwanted intruders. All and all, the Weapon X Facility was amazing...ly boring.

That's just the opinion of one guard. Nothing sucked worse than being the unlucky bastard stuck with doing monitor duty in the security room/central database. The guard on duty reclined in his seat, staring blankly at the computer screens with little to no interest, threatening to fall asleep at a moment's notice. Aside from a little mishap involving a runaway cart of battery acid, nothing interesting happened and most likely never would. They were in the middle of nowhere on the coldest day of winter with by nearly two dozen soldiers patrolling the surrounding borders. What kind of dumbass would be stupid enough to try and sneak in here?

Interestingly enough, his question was answered almost immediately. Within the blink of an eye, a white-tipped arrow plastered itself against the edge of the central monitor. The security guard barely had a chance to sit up before the canister at the end of the arrow released a murky-green gas that instantaneously rendered him unconscious. There was a few seconds of silence before the ventilation grating was slowly pried inwardly off the wall and shoved to one side. Speedy crawled out a moment after, throwing back her parka hood to let her golden ponytail fly free. Impulse followed close behind, throwing off his winter cap, and Batgirl bringing up the rear.

"Huh, I thought that only worked in spy movies." Speedy said interestingly as Batgirl dashed over to computers, unceremoniously shoving the guard to the floor. "I still don't know how we managed to get this far, but I'm not complaining."

"This looks like he monitor womb for the entire base." Impulse proclaimed, dashing back and forth between the panels. "I bet we could find all kinds of stuff from here. Maybe we can find out what they're doing here."

"Better than wondering around aimlessly waiting for someone to kill us." Speedy commented, turning to their oldest teammate. "Al right, Batgirl, get to it." The Dark Knightess remained rooted in her spot, looking very confused at the moment. "Well, what are you waiting for? Hack this sucker already."

"I…cannot."

"Eh?" Speedy muttered confused.

"I…cannot…hack…commuters." Batgirl informed slowly.

"Firstly, it's computers." Speedy corrected, looking close to blowing her top. "And secondly, what do you mean you can't hack them? You're a bat! Bats are supposed to be good at this kinda stuff!"

"Strong…in body." Batgirl proclaimed, conflicted between emotions of pride and misery. "Weak…in mind. But…I know…someone…who can…handle this." The white-suited bat reached up to tap on of her cowl's ears; an audible buzz echoed in the room. "Oracle…can you… here me?"

"Coming in loud and clear, Batgirl." An unseen female voice responded. Speedy and Impulse looked at their teammate with attentiveness – they had heard rumors of Batman finding a new Oracle shortly before meeting Spoiler, but they didn't have any evidence to prove it. "I just received word from Batman that he and the full Justice League roster have just made contact with Brother Blood and the Church of Blood. Things are getting really hectic over there. But besides that, what's up?"

"We need you…to hack…into…commuter." Batgirl requested.

"Computer." Speedy and Impulse corrected; Batgirl flushed embarrassingly.

"Easy enough." Oracle answered confidently. "Just plug be in and I'll see what I can do."

The white-cloaked bat slowly nodded, even though the woman couldn't see her, and reached into a hidden pocket in the wrist of her suit. From underneath the hidden layer, Batgirl retrieved a USB plug with a wired most likely connected to the electrical systems in her Batsuit. The older girl passed off the plug to Impulse – Batgirl didn't know a thing about computers and the littler speedster would be able to find the plug faster than her. The scarlet-haired minor dashed back and forth between the monitors in half a second before she found what she was looking for, plugging Batgirl into the system. Effective immediately, the computer screens changed to a vibrant-green backdrop with and the image of an expressionless woman with jagged lines across her skull was stamped on the surface.

"Well, that was easy enough." Oracle commented; her voice coming directly from the computers. "I've seen cell phones with more security than this. So, what do ya girls need?"

"Tell us…what they are…doing here." Batgirl requested. "Are they…working on the…Weapon X…Project…again…or are…they…using this base…for something…else?"

"Give me a moment." Oracle responded; a series of rapid-fire clicking noises were heard shortly after on the other side. "They have a number of projects going around that place, but it looks like they are focusing on recreating the Weapon X Project again. I started digging through the encryption files and found some interesting history about Project Weapon X – or should I call it Project Weapon Plus."

"Weapon Plus?" Impulse repeated confused.

"Yeah, that's the name of the original program when it was originally instated in 1942." Oracle answered knowledgably. "Back then, Weapon Plus was involved in developing a Super Soldier Serum during World War II and was headed by Dr. Abraham Erskine under the name Project: Rebirth or Weapon I."

"Super Soldier Serum?" Speedy blinked shockingly. "Wait, does that mean…"

"Captain America was the first successful test subject of Weapon Plus." Oracle finished. "Though he didn't know it at the time what Weapon Plus was really doing. All he knew was that his country was in danger and her need to fight. Weapon Plus tried to duplicate the Weapon I program several time, but with Dr. Erskine dead and Captain America missing at the time, they didn't produce a lot of success. They eventually stopped trying to replicate the serum after Weapon VII – codenamed Nuke – went on a rampage. They started working with adamantium bonding from there and that's what brings us to Weapon X."

"So they're trying to recreate the bonding experiment that made Wolverine." Speedy hummed thoughtfully. "But how is that supposed to work? The only reason Wolverine survived was because of his mutant healing factor and no one can heal as fast as him…well, except maybe Daken and Sabretooth, but I don't really see them working here."

"I'm looking into that – hold on." Oracle said; the fast-paced clicking resumed. "That's weird. There's a separate file attached to the Weapon X data called Weapon X-23, but it has a lot of security measures around it. Wait…wait…oh man, this is some serious stuff. Eight layer encryption algorithms, twenty-six different firewalls, they even have multiple software drones – not even Iron Man has this kind of security."

"Whatever it is, they don't want anyone finding out about it." Impulse commented.

"Can you…hack it?" Batgirl asked hopefully.

"I'm trying my best, but they keep pushing me out." Oracle replied with an aggravated grunt. "Maybe…"

"Hold it right there!" The girls quickly snapped back and, as luck would have it, Batgirl accidentally disconnected the USB plug before Oracle had a chance to look further. You could imagine the expressions of surprise shared between them when American Dream skidded to a halt, looking between the trio. "Wait a minute. Batgirl? Speedy? Uh…Arrow Girl?"

"Uh…I'm Speedy." Speedy pointed out.

"No, you're not." American Dream denied, pointing you the youngest in the group. "That's Speedy."

"I'm Impulse." Impulse replied.

"Then who's Speedy?" American Dream asked confused.

"I'm Speedy!" Speedy snapped angrily.

"That makes no sense." American Dream shook her head.

"You are…American Dream." Batgirl girl said, choosing her words carefully to get her point across. "You are…a hero…leader of the…Ultimates."

"That's me." American Dream acknowledged. "But the question is: what are you three doing here."

"We should be asking you the same question." Impulse said pointedly. "What are you doing all the way in Canada? You're **American** Dream, not Canadian Dream?" The older girls glanced at her with their brows raised. "What?"

"I'm here on official business." American Dream stated sternly. "I am the chief of security for the Weapon X Facility. Normally I would take you down and hand you over to the proper authorities for trespassing, but I might be willing to make an exception for you three. I'll let you leave peacefully in exchange for forgetting everything you saw here today."

"You mean forget the fact that they're starting up the Weapon X Project again?" Speedy shouted absurdly. "You can't be serious!"

"She is…very serious." Batgirl stated with certainty; her body reader skills were in full effect. "She knows…what is happening…and is willing…to fight us…for it. She is…different…from the…American Dream…we know."

"So what do we do?" Impulse asked worried.

The older girls didn't respond, merely stationing themselves against the star-spangled woman glaring at them. Batgirl could easily see the small movements in American Dream's actions: the little tremors in her left arm, the brief twist in her lips. She wasn't backing down – she was prepared to take on all three of them at once…and she was confident in victory. Hoping to dissuade the blond bombshell, Batgirl snapped open the pouches in her utility belt and pelted a pair of batarangs at an impressive speed. Batgirl was highly trained, but American Dream was just as good. The blond soldier reached her left arm behind her back and pulled her signature shield in defense to deflect the flying projectiles.

However, Speedy and Impulse knew their teammate wouldn't act so recklessly and quickly caught on to the Dark Knightess' plan. While American Dream blocked the batarangs, Speedy swiftly knocked an arrow and sent it flying towards the soldier's feet. The canister at the end blew open and a set of bolas twisted around the blond bombshell's ankles, causing her to lose her balance ever slightly. Impulse took advantage of this and dashed up to the American soldier, jumping up and plowing both of her heels against the hero's abdomen to throw her back. American Dream grunted painfully as she was hurtled back by several feet, bouncing against the cold metal floor paneling twice before skidding to a halt on her side. Impulse ran back to Speedy, giving the archer a congratulatory high-five.

"That wasn't bad actually." Speedy complimented.

"Ya ready to give up yet?" Impulse taunted; goofy gestures included.

"She will…not give up." Batgirl proclaimed seriously, earning curious stares from her younger comrades. "She is…a soldier."

"You're damn right I'm a soldier." American Dream glowered, ripping the bolas from her ankles. "I didn't become the American Dream by giving up whenever I got knocked down." She swiftly pushed back up to her feet. "I could have let you three off with a warning, but assaulting a soldier is a serious crime – America or otherwise. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to take you down."

"Give it your best shot." Speedy said arrogantly, pulling back the drawstring with a fresh arrow locked. "It's three on one – you ain't got a snowballs chance."

Apparently, the odds of being outnumbered didn't faze American Dream as much as she had hoped. Frowning at her failed attempt, Speedy let the arrow fly, which was effortlessly deflected by the signature shield. But instead of going on the defensive, the blond bombshell surprised them by pitching her shield in a fashion that would make Captain America proud. Batgirl quickly jumped to the side, Impulse dashed away, and Speedy successfully ducked beneath the shield as it flew over her head. Now with her weapon gone, Speedy wasted no time locking in two fresh arrows and releasing them on the American soldier. However, American Dream proved to be more resourceful that they originally realized.

The blond bombshell gripped her fist, ushering a sharp clicking sound from her gloves. The soldier punched forward and a pair of mini-shields were launched in quick succession one after the other and collided with Speedy's arrows in midair, effectively throwing them off course. Speedy gapped at the scene: how could she forget about her disk launcher? It took a moment for Speedy to snap out of her stupefied state and reach back for another arrow, but American Dream wouldn't allow it. The blond bombshell shot two more disks from her launcher – one to knock the arrow out of the archer's hand and the other to knock away the bow.

Speedy blinked briefly at her empty hands before she felt a sudden flash of pain in the back of her head and dropped forward to the floor. In all the commotion, she had forgotten about American Dream's shield, which had been ricocheting against the walls until it nailed a solid blow in the back of her skull. American Dream plucked her shield out of the air and latched it to her arm just in time to block and incoming flying kick from the scarlet-haired speedster. Impulse kicked off the shield and made a mad dash in the opposite direction when the blond bombshell attacked with her disk launcher. At the same time, Batgirl sought to use Impulse as a distraction and attack the soldier from the shadows while her back was turned.

Unfortunately, American Dream is more experienced than she realized. When the Dark Knightess attempted to grab the soldier from behind, American Dream twisted around the fighter's arm and smacked her shield across Batgirl's face. The silent crusader stumbled back a few step, somewhat regretting the stitching over her mask that prevented her from wiping the blood off her lips. As the female bat positioned herself, the blond bombshell hurtled her shield once more. But Batgirl was able to duck the weapon rather easily, quickly charging ahead before the American soldier had a chance to use her disk launcher.

Batgirl shot two jabs, which American Dream easily pushed away, before jutting her knee into the woman's stomach. While the star-spangled hero doubled over, the Silent Knight delivered a devastating palm strike to the soldier's chin. There was enough force behind that strike to break a normal person's jawline, but American Dream apparently conditioned herself to be durable even without the Super Soldier Serum. But even so, Batgirl was still the better fighter. The female bat moved in for the finishing strike when her sharpened sense of hearing picked up the sound of clashing metal coming from behind. American Dream's shield was coming from behind just like it did Speedy.

To counter this, Batgirl stepped to one side and safely avoided being rendered unconscious. Unfortunately, this was the kind of moment that left her ultimately vulnerable – a fact American Dream took advantage off. The star-spangled soldier stepped forward to catch her weapon before turning on her heels and smacking the weapon across Batgirl's face. The strike left the Dark Knightess disoriented, which was a problem because her abilities relied heavily on her sense of sight. American Dream didn't realize how damaging her blow really was, but she wasn't complaining. The blond bombshell smacked the female bat twice with her shield before finishing her off with a mini-disk to the forehead, ultimately sending her back to the floor along with Speedy.

That was two down and one to go. Thankfully, the young speedster made no effort to hide and came charging headfirst at the shielded woman. Shaking her head in amusement, American Dream swung her shield around and nailed Impulse across the head, causing the redheaded minor to flip backwards and land painfully on her stomach. Dream felt bad about beating up a little girl, but it seemed rather pathetic that she would be taken out in one blow.

"Is it just me…?" Impulse said nasally; she was holding back a bloody nose. "Or are we getting our butts kicked?"

"Judging by the splitting headache…" Speedy moaned, rubbing her throbbing skull. "It's not just you."

Ok, you girls had your fun." American Dream said sternly, pulling Impulse off the ground by the back of her costume. "But now you're in big trouble. We'll see what the board of directors has to say about trespassers."

Impulse thrashed wildly to break the Dream Girl's grip, but met with minimal success. But now that her mind was in the right place, Batgirl silently unlatched one of the bottom pockets of her utility belt, allowing a collection a silver sphere to roll across the floor. American Dream felt one of the orbs tap against her boot and looked down, curiously drawn to the mysterious objects. Not long after, the silver spheres released a cloud of black smoke that obscured her vision. When the smoke cleared only a few seconds later, she found herself completely alone with her hand empty of any children – they had escaped.

"Ok, I'll admit it." American Dream sighed. "That was kinda cool."

* * *

><p>"I can't believe…" Speedy panted, trying to keep up with the pace set by Impulse and Batgirl. "We got our butts handed to us by one woman who has no special powers or skills."<p>

"Oh, she has skills all right." Impulse commented. "Butt kicking skills."

"She is…a specially…trained soldier…of S.H.I.E.L.D." Batgirl informed, sounding somewhat downcast. She could only imagine the look of disappointment of her mentor's expression if he ever saw what happened. "Even…the Avatar…has trouble…against her."

"To be fair, she has trouble with a lot of things – just sayin'." Impulse said.

"Well, if I ever see her again…" Speedy huffed. "I'm gonna – GYAH!"

Batgirl and Impulse skidded to a halt – Impulse ended up streaking six feet across the floor before doubling back. The blond archer had been pulled off the side by her parka hood, which threw off and readied one of her silver tipped arrows at the attacker. Fortunately, it wasn't American Dream that had caught up to them, but Dr. Sarah Kinney. The facility geneticist raised her hands in surrender seeing as how the sidekick had a lethal weapon aimed at her jugular vein.

"Who are you?" Speedy interrogated once Batgirl and Impulse joined her.

"Please, don't shoot." Dr. Kinney pleaded. "I don't wish to fight. I've seen you three on the news before – Batgirl, Speedy, and Arrow Girl…"

"Oh, for the love of…" Speedy growled.

"You're mentors are in the Justice League." Dr. Kinney continued uninterrupted. "Did they send you here?"

"Yes." Batgirl answered shortly.

"American Dream will be coming any minute now." Dr. Kinney informed worriedly. The raven-haired scientist quickly pressed her hands against the wall, tempting Speedy to pin an arrow through her palm. But much to their surprise, a secret elevator appeared just behind the surface – that was oddly and unrealistically convenient. "Quickly before she spots us."

The triple sidekicks looked between one another in a silent debate. They had a choice between following a complete stranger into the unknown and possibly risk certain death or go another round with American Dream…Yeah; they're getting on the elevator. The girls quickly ducked inside and Dr. Kinney pressed the twenty-third button so hard that she looked likely to break it. Thankfully, the door managed to conceal itself just in time as American Dream ran by, never knowing how close she came to catch her targets. Inside the safety of the elevator, Speedy was already groaning at the annoying music playing on the speakers.

"Thank you…" Batgirl nodded gratefully. "Who…are you?"

"I'm Dr. Sarah Kinney, the leading geneticist of the Weapon X Project." Dr. Kinney introduced. "Second-in-command of this facility under Dr. Zander Rice."

"So you're the one running the show, huh?" Speedy questioned with a suspicious glare. "Then talk to me, doc. What's going on around here? Why is Weapon X back online? And why is American Dream working security duty in Canada when she's supposed to be leading the Ultimates back in **America**?"

"I understand why you are so confused, but please remain calm." Dr. Kinney sighed tiredly. Batgirl noticed the subtle hints in the scientist's movements that suggested she was suffering from severe stress and conflicting emotions. She looked desperate. "To answer your second question, Dr. Rice thought it would be best to increase security around the facility, so he thought the leader of the Ultimates would be suitable for the job. He collected some technology used by the original Mad Hatter and hired a man named Deathstroke to implement the device."

"So now we're dealing with mind control." Impulse groaned loudly. The young speedster reached into her pocket, retrieving a sugar loaded snack. "I need more energy for this."

"What about…Weapon X?" Batgirl questioned.

"I was originally hired on by Dr. Rice to replicate the Weapon X Project." Dr. Kinney explained. "He understood that none of the test subjects could survive the injection sequence without the same healing factor as James Howlett. So instead of looking for new lab rats, he decided to replicate the experiment through genetic manipulation."

"Cloning." Batgirl summarized.

"Yes." Dr. Kinney responded. "They wanted me to create a perfect clone of the original Weapon X. But the genetic sample they provided me was damaged and one of the Y-chromosomes couldn't be repaired. I suggested the make a female clone, but Dr. Rice wanted to make a perfect clone of Wolverine. But after twenty-two failures, Dr. Rice finally agreed to make a female clone of Wolverine."

"Hence, X-23." Impulse concluded.

"I'm all for making advancements in science to improve the world." Speedy sneered. "But experimenting on living creatures like their lab rats is just cruel – like Joker cruel."

"I didn't care – I was just in this for the research." Dr. Kinney answered honestly; Speedy hissed. "The ability to replicate and manipulate mutant DNA would unlock limitless potential to understanding the mysteries of life. But…that was before…"

"Before what?" Impulse asked curiously.

"Dr. Rice only agreed to allow the female cloning…was if I became its surrogate mother." Dr. Kinney stated, earning simultaneous shocked expressions from the girl. "I agreed because I wanted to see all my research and hard work come to life…but after carrying her for nine months and holding her in my arms, I just couldn't go through with it anymore. How could I even think of harming such a sweet and innocent child? I wanted to stop the experiment, but Dr. Rice is a cruel man." She covered her eyes with her hand, trying to fight back the tears. "He took my daughter away from me the moment she was born and limited any contact between me and her. I had to watch in silence for fourteen years as he put her through all the training and torture for his own sick pleasure. He even hired Kimura to act as her handler and…" She hiccupped. "Torture her whenever she felt like it."

"Kimura…" Impulse hummed, tapping her chin with her snack. "That sounds familiar…"

"Kimura…" Batgirl said lowly. "Was a…top killer…in the…League of…Assa…Assa…you know. She left…the League… close to…ten years…ago."

"Are you sure?" Speedy asked.

"Vividly." Batgirl leered.

"Dr. Rice and Kimura constantly pushed her beyond her limits until she broke down." Dr. Kinney sniffed. "Dr. Rice forced her mutation at an early age by exposing her to radiation poisoning with ten times the normal dose and Kimura forcibly extracted her claws. But been doing everything I could to make things easier for her, but it's all just too much. Then…two weeks ago…Dr. Rice went ahead with the experiment. I wanted to put it through a trial period, so he only injected her hands and feet with adamantium. The experiment was a success, but now she's in more pain that before."

"So you sent off that electrical charge on the grid to call for help." Impulse concluded.

"I was hoping to get Wolverine's attention and have him save her." Dr. Kinney. "But since you three are here, you'll have to do. Dr. Rice is planning to do a full body injection in an hour and if that happens, there's no telling what he could do to her. Please, you have to save my daughter before it's too late."

"Look here, lady." Speedy said unconvinced. "That a sad little story, but how do we know you're telling the truth."

"She is…truthful." Batgirl proclaimed with an air of certainty. "She wants…to save her…daughter…because…she loves her." She stared down at her feet with a distant look. "Any mother…would do…the same."

The rest of the trip up the elevator was left in complete silence. Speedy was still a little skeptical or the doctor's story, but she trusted Batgirl's body reading skills to be able to tell the truth from the lies. And besides that, they were heroes. If there was some little girl be poked and prodded for hellish experimentations, then it was their job to save her. Moments passed away as they steadily climbed the mountain until they finally reached the twenty-third floor – Impulse snickered at the analogy. The girls and the doctor pressed themselves against the wall once the doors open with Speedy poking an arrow around the corner. Once checking to see if the coast was clear, Speedy ventured ahead down the hall with the others following behind.

The floor was empty in comparison to the last one; it was mostly a lengthy hallway leading up to a gargantuan steel door like the ones you tend to see in bank vaults. They were serious in keeping X-23 secret. It would have been impossible for any of them the break through the entrance, but they were fortunate to have the leading scientist to give them access. While the sidekicks guarded the hallway, Dr. Kinney pulled out her ID card and flashed it at the onboard computer.

"**Access Granted!**" The computer exclaimed. "**Welcome, Dr. Kinney.**"

"Is it just me or are all the computers starting to sound the same?" Impulse commented.

The older females chose to ignore her, but Speedy did roll her eyes at the question before following the doctor in. The chamber they had entered was a complete contrast to the rest of the mountain. The walls were covered in glaring-white tiles arranged in a perfectly shaped cube with absolutely no furnishing or bare essentials – it was like solitary confinement. But on one side of the room, there were splotches of crimson-red splattered across the walls and trace amounts of ripped black hair scattered around the tiles. There was even a pile of sharpened bones starting to pile up in to corner; Impulse shivered involuntarily. It was in that corner that the girls found their target.

Just as Dr. Kinney said, she looked no older than fourteen years-old and a curtain of raven-black hair tailing down her back. The resemblance between mother and daughter was undeniable from the facial structure to the pale-green eyes. But instead of finding her in good shape as they had hoped, X-23 was laying forward in a puddle of what appeared to be fresh blood.

"No!" Dr. Kinney screamed, running to her daughter.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The girls hissed and turned to the corner where Kimura was causally leaning against the wall. How could they have not noticed here – there was nowhere to hide! "Dr. Rice keeps saying that you're going to ruin our the hard work you put into the little project, but the board of directors have always been adamant about keeping you on. I wonder how they'll feel once they find out you let these…sidekicks into a top secret facility."

"You won't get the chance to tell them." Speedy said threateningly, drawing back and arrow.

"Don't bother." Kimura scoffed. "I underwent some experiments myself and now my skin is completely invulnerable. Superman could take his best shot and I wouldn't feel a thing."

"We're not afraid of you!" Impulse proclaimed confidently.

"Oh, it's not me you'll have to worry about." Kimura chuckled darkly. "X-23…why don't you 'play' with these three. If you're a good girl, I might even give you a break from playtime tomorrow."

"X, please listen to me." Dr. Kinney pleaded. "You don't have to listen to her."

The dark-haired teen known as X-23 slowly –and almost painfully- steadied herself long enough to get to her hands and feet. Through half-lidded eyes, the Wolverine clones stared at the woman who carried and gave her life – the one she should call mother. X-23 shoved the doctor aside without any remorse. The young girl swayed to her feet with soft growl echoing in the back of her throat; her eyes shielded behind the wave of black she called hair. The teenage experiment brought her fists up into view and – with an animalistic screech – two silver claws erupted between her knuckles in each hand. The beastly experiment hunched forward; her eyes now visible with a savage look in them.

"I believe…the term is…" Batgirl said slowly. "Crap."

* * *

><p><strong>Please, read and review – just one would be nice.<strong>

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><p><strong>Birds of Prey Profile<strong>

**Name: **Impulse  
><strong>Real Name: <strong>Iris "Irey" West  
><strong>Age: <strong>8**  
>Relatives: <strong>Flash III (Father), Linda Parks-West (Mother), Jai West (Brother)  
><strong>MentorPartner(s): **Flash IV  
><strong>Affiliation(s): <strong>Flash Family, Birds of Prey  
><strong>PowersAbilities:  
><strong>**-** Speed Force Conduit  
>- Multi-Visual Goggles<br>- Genius Level Intellect  
><strong>Notes:<br>**- Childish Mannerism  
>- Accelerated Metabolism<br>- Scientific Prodigy


	5. X23

**Birds of Prey**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own DC, Marvel, or any other characters outside of OCs.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter Four: X-23<span>**

_**Cold Lake, Alberta – December 31, 14:32 MDT**_

Why is it that nothing ever, _**EVER**_ turns out the way you want it to? What was supposed to be a simple reconnaissance mission quickly spiraled downhill into a research and rescue mission. Unfortunately, the person they were supposed to liberating was also the one trying to skewer them. Throw in a Sherpa; a couple of ninjas, a can of baked beans and you could have the Bat Family's last thanksgiving.

Cornered in the heart of the Weapon Plus Facility, Batgirl and her minor teammates remained trapped in the white-tiled containment cell between a literal rock and a sharp place. On one side of the four-walled prison, X-23 – the genetic clone of Wolverine – crouched low to the floor with her fists clenched tightly; twin adamantium claws ripping through her knuckles. In the corner, next to the pile of sharpened bones, Dr. Sarah Kinney stared worriedly between her costumed superheroes and her daughter, who was growling in a savage manner. On the opposite side, the mysterious assassin named Kimura leaned casually against the doorway, effectively cutting off the girls only means of escape. The girl's stood back-to-back-to back with Speedy aiming an arrow precisely for Kimura's throat, Batgirl slowly reaching for her belt, and Impulse…just being Impulse.

"X-23…why don't you 'play' with these three?" Kimura chuckled darkly. "If you're a good girl, I might even give you a break from playtime tomorrow."

"X, please listen to me." Dr. Kinney pleaded, kneeling at a safe distance from her offspring. "You don't have to listen to her – you don't have to be afraid anymore. These people; they can help you."

"You're already in deep shit, doctor." Kimura said threateningly. "The bosses are going to be pissed when they find out you tried to sneak their favorite lab rat out of the Facility with three of the Justice League's sidekicks. So try not to make things worse for yourself." She nodded to the female clone. "X-23, get rid of them already."

"Can't we just talk?" Impulse suggested optimistically. The other occupants in the room stared at the youngster with odd expressions. "You're right – what was I thinking?"

X-23's level of patience had worn off, which was surprisingly lengthy considering her genetic template. The Wolverine clone lunged forward with her adamantium claws ahead; her teeth bared and her lengthy-black hair flapping. The girls quickly responded and scattered. Batgirl ducked and rolled under the clone's charge, Impulse zipped towards the other end of the room in a split second, and Speedy acrobatically flipped backwards towards the corner where Dr. Kinney was kneeling. Landing back on her feet, Speedy reached back into her quiver and knocked an arrow that she sent flying towards the living weapon. At least she would have if Dr. Kinney hadn't jumped in the way and pushed the archer's bow away, stabbing the arrow into the top-right corner of the room.

"Whose side are you on?" Speedy exclaimed angrily.

"Please, don't hurt her!" Dr. Kinney begged urgently. "She doesn't know what she's doing!"

"Hurt her?" Speedy said exasperatedly. "I'm more worried about her hurt us!"

Unfortunately, the sudden misfire redirected X-23's attention away for the Dark Knightess – who she deemed as the logical first target – and instead focused of the winter-garbed archer and her progenitor. Taking a glance back to the dark-eyed heroine, the clawed weapons turned and leaped at the pair with her claws in front and releasing a savage growl. Dr. Kinney's insistence in saving her daughter had caused Speedy to forget the placement of her arrows and scrambled around her quiver to find one that would – hopefully – not blow them up. Thankfully, she was saved at the last minute and a gray and white blur passed through and punched X-23 in the side of the head, sending her sliding into the wall with a solid thud.

X-23 stood her head from the brief moment of dizziness, snarling at the scarlet speedster that punched her. Impulse may not be the oldest or the strongest, but she has her own strengths to benefit from. After a quick readjustment of her goggles, the speeding child dashed across the room, going into a quick slide as X-23 slashed her claws across the air. Sliding behind the living weapon, Impulse kicked X-23 in the back of the leg, forcing them to buckle under. X-23 hissed in brief shock, but reacted swiftly by swiping her claws backwards. Impulse managed to duck under the swipe with only a few of her red hairs nicked and struck back by kicking X-23 in the kneecaps. Unfortunately, the Weapon X clone was more than expecting it and wrapped her hand around the speedster's thin ankle, casually throwing the child back into the wall.

Impulse smacked into the white tiles, moaning childishly when her head bumped against the surface. Poking her eyes up, the red-headed speedster took notice of the Wolverine clone poised to skewer her head from both sides. Now Impulse wasn't one to deny help from friends, but this was the one time she didn't need assistance. With a knowing smirk on her face, Impulse began shaking rapidly in place – a small humming noise radiating around her – and casually leaned against the wall. In a shocking twist, the young speedster actually phased through the surface of the tiles and emerged untouched in the hallway on the opposite side of the wall.

"Phew, that was close." Impulse smiled, leaning against the wall. A pair of metal claws stabbed through the wall next to her head. "Aw, slag."

The scarlet-haired speedster jumped back as a second pair of claws ripped through on the other side and slowly circled around the surface, creating a new access way between the rooms. X-23 stepped through the newly formed hole, shooting a pissed-off look at the speedster – yep, she was definitely Wolverine's girl. Impulse ducked as X-23 took a swipe and wasted no time taking off down the hallway with the mutant clone following close behind. At the same time, Batgirl walked through the hole made by the living weapon and watched the pair disappear around the corner before turning to Speedy.

"I…will follow." Batgirl informed, briefly glancing at the x-23's handler, who was grinning amusingly. "Can you…?"

"Go. I'll take care of Happy Days here." Speedy replied, reaching for a new arrow in her quiver. Batgirl nodded and took off down the hall as Speedy retrieved her arrow of choice. "Ok, smiley, ya gonna surrender quietly. Please say no."

"Go ahead." Kimura challenged. "Give me your best shot."

"You don't stand a chance against her." Dr. Kinney hissed in Speedy's ear. "Kimura is one of the Facility's earliest attempts in recreating Kryptonian physiology in humans. She has the invulnerability of Superman, but none of his weaknesses. That's why she was assigned to be X-23's handler."

"Don't get your stockings in a twist, doc." Speedy said confidently, pulling back the string of her bow. "I brought myself a secret weapon." Nods her head towards the strangely tipped arrow. "A kinetic-kill side wind arrow tip with a secondary cycloid methylene RDX burst. This baby could bust through the Fortress of Solitude. Ladies, may I present to you…the Ex-Wife."

Kimura didn't seem the slightest bit impressed and, in all honesty, the whole thing seemed rather ridiculous. Nonetheless, Speedy releasing her hold on the drawstring and allowed the arrow to fly. The impacted arrow zoomed across the room…and bounced off Kimura's chest. The archer, the handler, and the scientist all stared down at the arrow clattering pathetically on the floor – the tip was bent in an awkward shape. Kimura raised a brow to Artemis's sidekick, who visibly frowned at the pitiful display.

"Oh, Hammer owes me a huge refund." Speedy commented.

Kimura rolled her eyes, already believing thinking that beating up this kid would be a waste of time – well, she is getting paid for this, so she can't complain. The invulnerable handler jumped forward and swung around for a deadly right hook, which Speedy barely dodged while pulling Dr. Kinney with her. Kimura's level of strength was made apparent as her fist smashed through the tiled surface of the wall without so much as flinching as the flying debris pelted her face. But in the time the Facility handler took to pull her arm back, Speedy had already knocked two arrows and released the drawstring. The pair of projectiles landed parallel on her chest – not in the way you think – and exploded within a split-second upon impact. Kimura staggered back from the initial shock, but showed no signs of damage other than the burn marks on her shirt. Kimura was pissed – that was her favorite shirt.

At the moment Kimura started to make her approach, Speedy maintained her level of cool as she reached into her quiver and fired arrow after arrow. The first arrow was a steel net, which Kimura effortlessly ripped in half. The second possessed an electrified arrow tip, but only served as a minor irritation for the handler. And the third arrow jammed itself into Kimura's neck, dispersing a quick flow of liquid nitrogen that coated the invulnerable warrior in a thick sheet of ice. That ice was specifically made to contain anyone less than Superman or the Hulk.

But considering this woman after seeing the woman resist everything so far, Speedy quickly rummaged through her quiver for one specific arrow she was looking for. She had managed to attain the arrow just second before Kimura shattered the block of ice from within, looking even more pissed than usual. As the winter-garbed archer pulled back her drawstring, Kimura charged ahead with a flying tackle that would make the Hulk feel a sense of pride. The young archer made sure that the doctor was a good distance away before slacking her grip on the drawstring, crouching low to the ground before expertly flipping over the Facility handler.

Kimura threw out her arms to catch herself before she slammed into the wall, looking over her shoulder with a menacing glare. When Speedy landed safely on the ground, she pulled back the string and released the arrow, nailing Kimura directly between the shoulders. But instead of exploding as everyone had expected, the arrow hissed for the briefest moment before releasing a crimson-red foam substance that quickly engulfed Kimura in a matter of seconds. Her target presently incapacitated, Speedy leaned forward against her knees with her breathing heavier than normal.

"High-density… polyurethane foam." Speedy panted tiredly. "Never…leave home…without it."

"Are you all right?" Dr. Kinney asked concerned, catching the archer by the shoulder before she could fall over. "You look exhausted."

"Forgot…to take my medicine…this morning." Speedy wheezed. "I'm just…feeling a little…winded is all. You wouldn't…happen to know…how to make a…AIDS cocktail, would you?" The doctor shook her head. "I didn't…think so. I'll just…have to ask…Artemis to…make some…when I get back."

Speedy, using the good doctor for support, started to lead the good doctor out of the room when something caught her attention. It was a combination between a rip and a squishing sound. The young archer barely looked back in time before Kimura – covered in foam particles – came up from behind and grabbed Speedy by the face, slamming her head into the wall. The sound of tiles cracking vibrated around the room; Kimura released her grip on the winter-garbed heroine and allowed her to drop unconscious on the floor. Speedy looked so helpless with her arrows scattered around and a think trail of crimson leaking from her hairline. Kimura sneered angrily – to be subdued by a child was beyond humiliating.

Good thing she has the lab rat to vent her anger.

* * *

><p>Back with the scarlet-haired speedster and the Wolverine clone, the fight had somehow transferred to the opposite side of the Facility and ended in the boiler room. How that's even possible, Impulse wasn't even sure. But as the young speedster peered around the water heater, that was the last thing on her mind. When first entering this pipe maze, Impulse had completely lost X-23 and something told her that if she wasn't careful, she would be on the savage girl's menu. Wolverine was a gifted assassin back in his heyday and there was a good chance that his clone hadn't yet reached her peak- she needed to be lighter on her toes than usual.<p>

The scarlet-haired speedster scanned the area for the Wolverine before dashing between the boilers, the heat exchanges, and the water pumps. She had managed to work her way through the room without much trouble – she didn't know if she should be relieved or worried. But hidden in the forest of pipes near the ceiling, X-23 watched watching her prey very closely from above; her adamantium claws slowly crawling beneath the skin of her knuckles. Her target made a stop near the water heater directly beneath her, poking her head around the corner just in case. This was her chance.

Her talons fully uncovered, X-23 deftly dropped down behind the young sidekick and stabbed her clawed fists towards the Speedster's head. But as luck would have it, Impulse took a brief glance at the heater's thermometer and noticed X-23's reflection in the glass. The scarlet-haired speedster squeaked in fright and instinctively ducked down with her hands over her head, letting the razor claws fly over her. The cloned Weapon's claws pierced the water heater's surface, allowing clouds of steam to hiss and escape into the air. X-23 snarled savagely and tugged back, ultimately finding that her claws were somehow jammed into the water heater. Impulse also took notice of the clone's predicament as she crawled out from under her, giggling playfully.

"Looks like you're stuck, huh?" Impulse laughed as the clone continued tugging. "Actually, I was wondering about something. How come you only have two claws when Wolverine has three?"

And, however unfortunate, Impulse go her answer. With her hands presently caught in in a scrape of metal with stream pelting her in the face, the Wolverine clone chose to rely on her secondary weapon. A wide tear ripped between her toes and, shockingly enough, an adamantium talon surface on each of her feet. Impulse didn't even have time to look surprised before X-23 swiped her foot across the air, slashing the speedster diagonally across the chest. The scarlet-haired minor was lucky enough that the strike only made a small tear in her costume, but the force behind it caused Impulse to stumble back and slam her head against a close pipe with a heavy thud.

"Oh…that's why." Impulse said before falling unconscious.

Her prey rendered in capacitated, X-23 returned her focus on relieving her claws from the heater, which was surprisingly easy once she was focused enough. Slowly stepping over the knocked out superheroine, X-23 crouched down for a better look. She was just a child – probably not even ten years-old yet. Any humane person would have had the sense to let and innocent child go…..but this wasn't a humane facility. The clone of Wolverine brought back her claws for the final swipe…until a batarang stabbed the wall close to her right ear.

X-23 snapped her head over, finding the infamous Batgirl standing menacingly on the opposite side of the room. The Dark Knightess brought a sense of strength and wisdom that the clone had only seen in a select number of people – all of them skilled warriors. The Weapon X project left her previous prey and slowly made her approach towards the bat, who was slowly releasing the clasps on her cape.

"I…will be…your enemy." Batgirl challenged, successfully discarding her cape.

X-23 narrowed her eyes, though remained hesitant to attack. This woman was completely different from the others – she was calm, cool, collected, and obviously skilled based on her stance that presented no openings. And through her ability of reading body language, Batgirl could see the clone's disinclination. She was ruthless, savage, and filled to the brim with anger. Anger that seemed to go beyond Kimura's abuse and the Facility's experimentations – there was a sense of sadness in her eyes as well. Apparently, X-23 became aware of Batgirl's body reading abilities and was overwhelmingly pissed. You would be too if someone could see your personal thoughts.

The Weapon X Project jumped forward and swiped her claws twice, both of which were dodged by the Dark Knightess, and pivoted her talon across the woman's chest. However, Batgirl expertly caught the experiment's foot – making sure to avoid the sharp talon – and spun the girl around to land on her face. X-23 growled angrily and swiped her foot back while still on the ground, but Batgirl effortlessly jumped the attack and responded with her own kick. X-23 brought up her forearm to block the incoming kick and pushed back, causing Batgirl to flip away and the Wolverine Clone pushed back to her feet.

Back and forth, X-23 and Batgirl exchanged blows, but every attack usually ended with the Weapon X Project falling flat butt. Her latest attack involved stabbing the Caped Crusader through the head with her talon, but Batgirl blocked it with relative ease and kicked the mutant clone in the chest, throwing her back on the ground. X-23 propped herself up on her elbows, glaring spitefully at the white-clothed Heroine standing superiorly over her.

"Are you…ready to…give up?" Batgirl asked slowly.

This bitch was underestimating her – now she was pissed. Then again, she was already pissed, but you get the idea. The Weapon X experiment kicked back up to her feet and swiped her claw upwards at the heroine, who deftly dodged it with a simple sidestep. But in doing so, X-23's claw managed to slice one of the pipes in half, expelling a massive cloud of steam to cover the room. Batgirl brought her arms up defensively and stepped backwards as the steam clouds rolled over her, obscuring her vision. This was beyond bad. Batgirl's ability relied of seeing her opponents, which was impossible with all this haze. The best thing she could do at this point was rely on her other sharp senses.

Which apparently…weren't as sharp as she thought. As Batgirl stumbled through the smog, twisting and turning with her hands raised in defense, she heard a sharp clicking direct from her right side. Naturally, Batgirl spun around and took a quick jab in that direction…which result in the sudden throbbing sensation tingling up and down her arm. Clutching her injured hand, the mute warrior took a closer look at the object she attacked, which turned out to be a cooling vent now possessing a fist-shaped dent. The Dark Knightess shook her hand of the brief bout of pain and walked down the pathway, pressing her hand against the pipes as a guide. In addition to be a mute, she was now blind – things did not work well for her.

But while the silent warrior continued to wander aimlessly through the boiler room, a quick series of light footsteps were making their way towards the Dark Knightess. Unfortunately, she couldn't hear them over the sound of the hissing pipes. So in an unfortunate turn of events, X-23 emerged from the haze with an animalistic screech, slashing both her claws vertically up the heroine's back. Batgirl dropped forward to her hands and knees from the four fresh cuts on her back, not even letting out a groan – she was used to pain by now. The white-clothed bat slowly turned, only to receive a sharp swipe to the face from X-23's talon – stitches on her mask were ripped off. With Batgirl on her back, the Weapon X Project straddled her waste with open hand wrapped around the woman's throat and the other pulled back with her claws exposed.

"How…did you…find me?" Batgirl questioned slowly; the Wolverine tapped her nose with her claw. "Of course. You have…Wolverine's…sense of…smile." X-23 raised a brow in confusion. "That…wasn't right...was it?"

X-23 shook her head – either as a response or just annoyance. Nonetheless, the Weapon X Project pulled back her fist and stabbed her claws between the Dark Knightess's eyes. But at the last minute, Batgirl withdrew a batarang from the hidden compartment in her wrist and locked it in between the adamantium talons. X-23 hissed defiantly as she tried to push her strength behind the claws, which ended up becoming her downfall. While she was distracted with her imminent kill, Batgirl took the chance to deliver a striking palm thrust to X-23's chin. The deadly blow was very effective in throwing the experiment back on the ground and even drawing a small degree of blood flow.

X-23 groaned as she propped herself by her elbows, wiping the excess blood from her chin. But she was never given the chance to stand back up once Batgirl pressed her heel into the experiment's chest, effectively pinning her down. The Weapon X Project hated to admit it, but even with the advantaged of the smokescreen, she was still beaten. But that didn't mean she had to like it.

"Are you…finished?" Batgirl questioned seriously. "Because…I have…a few…"

That was the most she was able to get out before a loud ringing noise vibrated throughout the room. The Dark Knightess had a glazed distant look in her eyes before dropped forward like a fallen tree, lost in a state of unconsciousness. X-23 looked between the fallen warrior and back up, finding American Dream with Impulse under her arm and her shield hold out.

"Well done, American Dream." X-23 craned her head to the side as Dr. Rice and Kimura walked through the haze. The latter was carrying a knocked out Speedy over her should; most likely orders from Dr. Rice. "As usually, we have to pick up after you mess, X-23." The weapon glared hard at Rice. "American Dream, Kimura, please make our guests are placed in a security cell and remove their weapons – we don't want them escaping again. As for you, X-23, I want you back in your room immediately. If we didn't need you for the finishing procedure in later, I would have Kimura punish you for your inadequacy."

"We can still have some fun later." Kimura smirked as the weapon walked by.

"Don't touch her – we still need her in good shape for the final injection." Dr. Rice commanded. "But right now, I have more…pressing matters to attend to."

* * *

><p>Today proved be rather exhausting and that was before the superhero showed up. But now the chaos has finally passed, the heroes were securely locked up, the weapon was back in its room, and the security detail was cleaning up the mess. That just left one more thing and Dr. Rice wasn't looking forward to it. Situated in his private office, Zander was fiercely typing away at his computer for a private televised frequency. Once his access code had passed through the massive amounts of security, the screen displayed an image of his employer sitting casually in her office.<p>

The woman in charge was in her mid-20s with golden-blond hair that touched down to her shoulders and sharp lime-green eyes – she was stunningly beautiful. Her choice of clothing for the day was an expensive pinstripe jacket with a clean-white undershirt having and golden buttoned cufflinks, an apple-red necktie, a pitch-black skirt, and a pair of high heels. Though it wasn't visible through the computer screen, there was a neon-green tattoo of three dots forming an upside-down triangle on the back of her neck. **(Lena Luthor/Brainiac 13)**

"You better have a good excuse for calling me, Rice?" Lena said in a very unpleasing tone. "I was in the middle of a hostile takeover of Sivana Industries."

"Forgive me, Ms. Luthor." Dr. Rice apologized. "But we have a bit of a situation. Three sidekicks – Batgirl, Speedy, and Impulse – have managed to breach the Facility and attempted to liberate Weapon X-23. Fortunately, Kimura managed to persuade the weapon to turn against them and they have been successfully subdued."

"And how is it…" Lena questioned lowly. "That they were able to find a research laboratory in the middle of nowhere after I invested millions of corporate dollars to reestablish the Weapon Plus program?"

"Looking over the hidden security footage…" Dr. Rice explained. "We've found that Dr. Kinney deliberately connected the Facilities private power source to the public grid. She was hoping to signal Wolverine and the Justice, but it would seem that the League chose to send their sidekicks instead." Lena tapped her finger impatiently on her desk. "Ms. Luthor, if I might make a suggestion. Dr. Kinney has become too radical since the weapon was born and I think it would be beneficial if we…"

"Sarah Kinney is one of the most renowned geneticists in the world." Lena interjected irritably. "She is an instrumental part of the Weapon X-23 Project. You, on the other hand, are easily replaced." Dr. Rice tightened his fist under the desk. "I don't care how you do it, just make sure the weapon is ready for the military demonstration by next week or you will lose more than just your job."

"And…what about the heroes?" Dr. Rice asked.

"Batgirl was Ra's al Ghul's greatest project." Lena contemplated. "And I have always been fascinated by this 'Speed Force' used by the Flash Family." She tapped her chin, taking a moment to think. "Extract some blood samples from the sidekicks and eliminate the originals, but make sure you finish the final adamantium bonding process. Once you are finished, I want the Facility cleaned out and relocated – I don't want any evidence of LuthorCorp's involvement. Do I make myself clear, Rice?"

"Crystal." Dr. Rice nodded solemnly, cutting the connection.

* * *

><p>X-23 sat in her usual corner in her room, which had been successfully repaired after the extensive damage that had been done. The Wolverine clone was silent for the longest period of time, entertaining herself by drawing and withdrawing the metal claws from her knuckles. It was boring and tedious, but it was one of the few things she did in her solitary room that didn't involve hair ripping and blood shed – her own, that is. X-23 glanced to the opposite corner of the room, fully aware of the presence of the woman who had given birth to her; the woman she was supposed to call mother. X-23 made it painfully obvious that she didn't want to speak the scientist went she returned to her room, choice instead to disregard her existence entirely. But the woman was stubborn and refused to leave her daughter, choosing to stay and watch her. They spent the better of an hour in absolute silence until…<p>

"They were trying to help you, X." Dr. Kinney spoke up. "I understand that you are scared of Kimura and you might be a little confused of everything going on, but this is your chance for a better life. If you go with them, you could see the world and make friends. If you wanted, you could even see your father." X-23 drew her claws again, glaring at the woman that birthed her. "Ok, stay here if you want. But as you are being poked and prodded, think about this: what would Wolverine do?"

With a soft growl in the back of her throat, the dark-haired weapon withdrew her claws and turned her shoulder to the woman, ending the conversation. What would Wolverine do? She wouldn't know – she's not Wolverine."

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><p><strong>Please, read and review – just one would be nice.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong><span>Ultimates Profile<span>**

**Name: **American Dream  
><strong>Real Name: <strong>Shannon Carter  
><strong>Designation: <strong>none  
><strong>Age: <strong>25**  
>Relatives: <strong>Agent 13(Mother, deceased), Peggy Carter (Great-Aunt)  
><strong>MentorPartner(s): **Captain America, Winter Soldier, Blackwing, Patriot  
><strong>Affiliation(s): <strong>Ultimates, Dream Team (Former)  
><strong>Occupation: <strong>Tour guide (Former), SHIELD agent  
><strong>PowersAbilities:  
><strong>**-** Peak Physical Condition  
>- Disk Launcher<br>- Captain America's Shield  
>- Quality Leadership Skills<br>**Notes:  
><strong>- Thorough knowledge of Avengers history  
>- Degree in Military Science<br>- Possible daughter of Steve Rogers


	6. Resolution

**Birds of Prey**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own DC, Marvel, or any other characters outside of OCs.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter Five: Resolution<span>**

_**Cold Lake, Alberta – December 31, 18:29 MDT**_

Her head was throbbing – did she run into a brick wall or something. No…Kimura slammed her into it.

At the moment, Speedy was slowly regaining her senses as she groggily woke from her unconscious state. As her vision slowly cleared, she quick took notice that she was no longer in the white-tiled room used to house the Weapon X-23. She was being held captive in an unknown laboratory with a wide array of computers pressed against the wall and an unknown number of thick wires making their way to a cylinder container in the center of the room. The archer herself was being suspended five feet off the ground by her wrists in steel shackles – medieval, but practical.

Speedy shook her head to relieve any disorientation, quickly coming to realize that she wasn't alone. To her left, Impulse was also being suspended by her wrists – she was higher off the ground due to her level of height – and unsuccessfully trying to vibrate herself through the bonds. It seemed that every time she moved too fast, the restraints would give off an electric charge that would quickly impede any progress she had made. To her right, Batgirl remained calm and imposing, glaring at the group collected in front of them. American Dream and Kimura were standing around the table on the far right of the room, inspecting the archer's quiver and bow that had been relieved off her person. Dr. Kinney was examining the computer station next to the cylinder in the center of the room with X-23 sitting in the corner next to her like a child being punished.

The last man Speedy had never seen before. He was middle aged with blaring-orange hair that nearly rivaled Impulse wearing a traditional white lab coat. This must have been Dr. Rice, the son of a bitch responsible for this whole mess. The insane scientist had just finished construction on a device – it looked like a gun with a glass vial on top – and approached the Dark Knightess first. Dr. Rice wasn't the least bit anxious under Bat's heated gaze and forced her head to the side, stabbing her neck with the strange device. A sort hiss and the vial slowly filled with crimson liquid – he was collecting her blood.

"Not bad armaments." American Dream complimented, taking one of the arrows out of Speedy's quiver. "I wonder if she and Hawkeye shop at the same place."

"Hey, that's mine!" Speedy exclaimed; the people in the room jumped briefly. "Artemis made those especially for me!"

"Ah, it would appear that out little archer is awake." Dr. Rice said, taking the injector away from the Bat's neck. He removed the vial of blood from the device and settled it in his pocket for safekeeping. "I was starting to get worried that maybe Kimura had taken things too far, Arrowette."

"For the last time!" Speedy yelled in frustration. "MY – NAME – IS – SPEEDY! Why is that so hard to remember?"

"Maybe you should change the name." Impulse suggested. "I mean, calling yourself Speedy when you don't have super speed doesn't really make a whole lot of sense."

"Not – helping." Speedy growled.

"What…do you want…with us?" Batgirl questioned.

"Our original intentions had nothing to do with you." Dr. Rice explained, replacing the vial in the injector. "But now that you've discovered our facility, we can't very well let you leave this place alive. Our…benefactor is also interested in the League of Assassins greatest weapon and the concept of the Speed Force, so we require a sample of your blood." He approached Speedy. "She didn't make any request for your DNA, but it's better to be safe than sorry."

"Gee, thanks." Speedy muttered sarcastically.

"Dr. Rice." Dr. Kinney called. "The adamantium bonding process is ready to begin."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Dr. Rice scoffed, forcing the archer's head to the side. "We need to finish the project quick so that we may begin transferring to the new facility. It's only a matter of time before the Justice League realizes their sidekicks are missing."

The deranged scientist proceeded to stab the injector into the side of Speedy's neckline – the soft hiss indicated her blood being drawn. Staring sadly at the Wolverine clone, Dr. Kinney signaled her daughter to stand and prepare for the process. X-23 put no effort into challenging them, obediently stripping herself of her gown and stepping into the experimental pod. As her so-called mother started placing the needles in their proper positions, X-23 watched as he removed the automated syringe from the archer's neck – she looked even more sickly than usual. Dr. Kinney finished securing the breathing mask around her mouth when she suddenly stooped down to confront the Weapon Plus experiment face-to-face. Contrary to her usually composed self, the famous geneticist looked close to the brink of tears – X-23 could smell the increase of salt intake.

"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" Dr. Kinney questioned almost pleadingly. "This is your last chance to decide."

Decide? Since when was she given the right to make any choice? Since the moment she was born, everything had been planned out in her life. Her isolation at birth, her forced mutation at four, her hellish training regime at six, the adamantium bonding to her hands and feet at ten, and now to complete the process at the age of fourteen. There was never any choice. Dr. Kinney sighed heavily, taking her daughter's silence as a gesture that she was not backing down. Taking her place back at the computer monitor, the geneticist closed the case and started activating the sequence to finishing the adamantium bonding. As the tank slowly started to fill up with chemical fluid, she looked through the blurry glass at her would be rescuers.

Impulse was still fruitlessly struggling against her chains and Speedy was breathing heavily and sweating profusely – she looked like she would keel over at any moment. And then there was Batgirl. Even in this dangerous situation, the Dark Knightess remained calm and collected. The Bat and the Weapon were locked in a heated staring contest; almost as if they were silently communicating. And in a way, they were. Though she couldn't understand what the caped crusader wanted to say, there were some parts of her memory that recalled the girl's failed rescue attempts.

Though Speedy had no problem taking the Weapon down, Impulse was making an effort not to hurt X-23 or even involve herself in the fight. If she wanted to, the young Speedster could have ran circles around her and contain the Weapon in a matter of seconds. Then there was the Bat. She was clearly stronger, faster, and more experience than X-23, but she resolved herself to subdue the Wolverine clone rather than injuring her.

_"__**They were trying to help you, X.**_"

Help? She didn't need any help. She was Weapon X-23, a genetic replication of Wolverine designed to take after one of the world's greatest mutant.

"_**what would Wolverine do?**_"

Wait a moment…she was created to be like Wolverine…in every single way other than gender and name. So why…why was she submitting herself so easy? She had watched the video files of Wolverine since she was a child – learning, studying, and understanding the very nature of his existence as she was created for. And if there was one thing she was certain of, it was that Wolverine wouldn't roll over like a dog because he was scared or got hurt. Hell, he'd gouge out his own eyes before he starts listening to anyone – X-23 narrowed her eyes and growled in an animalistic undertone.

Dr. Rice had finished replacing the vial of Speedy's blood with an empty cartridge as he made his approach to Impulse, which was squirming around like a flounder out of water. The raving scientist pushed her head to the side to begin the extraction until a sharp "_snikt" _was heard followed by the sound of smashing glass. X-23 had broken out of her cage with her claws exposed and the injection needles sticking out of her skin – it looked like a repeat of the famous Weapon X escape. American Dream quickly moved to collect her shield and Kimura stepped forward to catch the beast, but X-23 had already launched herself at Dr. Rice. The enraged Weapon X-23 swiped her claws across the air, but surprisingly missed her torturer by a wide margin. It wasn't until Impulse's chains were shattered that X-23's true intentions were revealed.

Now free of her shackles, the scarlet-haired speedster zipped across the room, tripping both American Dream and Kimura, before making a wide U-turn towards Dr. Rice. The young sidekick jumped once within range of the insane scientist and slammed both heels into Rice's chest. Zander Rice slammed into the wall with a heavy grunt and fell forward – one of the blood samples fell out of his pocket and smashed against the floor. X-23 sliced her adamantium claws through the chains keeping Batgirl and Speedy suspended until he was painfully pulled back by her hair. Kimura forcefully pulled the Weapon's head back and leered down at her charge.

"You crossed the line this time, Bitch." Kimura glared angrily. The invulnerable handler reel back her fist to crush to mutant's skull when she suddenly lost all feeling in her left arm. Kimura looked genuinely stunned at her limb dangling uselessly at her side. "What the f…"

She was quickly interrupted by a pair of black-gloved hands stabbed two fingers into the base of her collarbone. The once unstoppable Kimura rolled her eyes back with a moan and toppled sideways, falling into a state of unconsciousness. Grateful to have the pressure relieved from her thinning hairline, X-23 looked over at Batgirl, who was securing both Kimura and Dr. Rice with a pair of handcuffs she retrieved from her utility belt.

"How…did you do that?" X-23 asked shockingly. Batgirl was surprised to hear her speak for the first time; her voice was softer than she had been expecting.

"Strong outside." Batgirl explained slowly. "Weak inside."

"Pressure point! Nice!" Impulse shouted excitedly, dashing between the pair. "Hey, I didn't know she could talk. I thought she just growled."

"Well, you'll find that _**she **_can talk." X-23 snarled; Batgirl glared at the speedster.

"What? It's not like I said it." Impulse shrugged, snapping her head to X-23's…bold fashion sense. "You do realize you're naked, right?"

X-23 raised her brow in confusion – obviously no one had taught her the concept of decency or embarrassment. But out of the corner of her eye, the Weapon Plus experiment noticed a blur of red, white, and blue flying in their general direction and pulled her comrades to the ground. American Dream's shield rebounded off the back wall and against the ground before returning to its owner with amazing accuracy. X-23 snarled in her typical fashion as she charged ahead and slashed her adamantium claws at the patriotic hero, but was denied by the unbreakable alloy of the star-spangled shield. American Dream smacked the face of the shield against the escaped Weapon to throw her back to the other girls, waiting for the next one to attack.

But while the Dream Girl was busy pounding the living daylights out of our heroes, Speedy had stealthily made her way behind the lab table and retrieved her weapons unnoticed. Once strapping her armaments where they belong, the winter-garbed archer flipped the bottom of her quiver, revealing a hidden cache of arrow tips underneath. She carefully selected one and twisted the top, exposing the hidden needle inside before stabbing it into her right forearm. A sense of relief washed over her and her tiredness briefly disappeared.

"It might not be as strong as my regular medicine…" Speedy sighed in relief, tossing the empty syringe. "But it should be enough to get me through."

"Speedy." The hooded archer blinked, surprised to find Dr. Kinney kneeling next to her. "Speedy, we have to help the others. They're strong, but they don't stand a chance against American Dream. You've seen what she's capable of."

"One, thank you for getting the name right." Speedy said happily, peaking over the table top. She looked over just in time to see Impulse jump on American Dream's shield only to be tossed backwards. And at the same time, the star-spangled hero kicked X-23 in the chest before tossing her shield aside. She briefly locked fists with Batgirl before the Dark Knightess was promptly knocked aside by the former hero's weapon. "Two, how are we supposed to help? Batgirl's the best of all of us and she's getting her ass handed to her."

"Remember what I said about Rice using the Mad Hatter's technology to control her?" Dr. Kinney questioned; Speedy nodded. "I just remembered that the programming chip is lodged in the back of her neck. You have the best shot of anyone here – think you can hit the mark?"

"Are you kidding?" Speedy smiled arrogantly, withdrawing an arrow from her quiver. "I'm the third best at what I do."

"Is that really something you can brag about?" Dr. Kinney pondered.

Ignoring that statement, the blond archer took aim as American Dream continued beating down Batgirl, Impulse, and X-23 simultaneous – it made one wonder if she was a Super Solider or not. But instead of pointing her arrow at the star-spangled superhero, Speedy allowed her arrow to fly in the opposite direction. Dr. Kinney nearly face-palmed at the action until she witnessed the archer's expert skill firsthand. The flying projectile rebound against the crevice of the floor, against an exposed pipe, off the ceiling of the adamantium machine, and sailed smoothly into the back of American Dream's neck. The instant the arrow made contact; the arrowhead released an electric pulse down the hero's spinal cord. American Dream shrieked as 10,000 volts of electricity coursed through her systems, successfully frying the mind control chip planted on her neck. Once the moment had passed, the star-spangled leader dropped to her knees and fell face-first into the ground – her neck smoking.

"That wasn't so bad." Speedy commented.

"Speak for yourself." X-23 sneered; the bruises on her face healing fast.

"Can you put this back on, please?" Impulse requested, handing the Weapon her discard gown.

"We need…to…escape." Batgirl proclaimed. "It…will not…be long…before they…awaken. We should…make our way…back to…the elater…" The girl's sighed; they were too tired to correct her. "And make…our way…to the clearing. We will…contact…the Justice League…when we are…at a…safe range…away…from the…facility."

"The elevators and access doors are all controlled by computer." Dr. Kinney warned. "Rice will have the entire Facility locked down before we can get to the ground floor."

"Then how are we supposed to get out?" X-23 sneered.

"There's always an emergency stairway in case of power failure." Dr. Kinney explained. "This facility is paid for by the best money can buy, but it is still prone to system faults during the hard winter times."

"Yeah, yeah, Less talkin', more runnin'." Speedy said urgently, pointing to the Star-Spangled superhero slowly starting to regain consciousness.

Now that Speedy had fried the Mad Hatter's control chip, they shouldn't have been worried about American Dream turning evil and beating them anymore. But there was always a chance that the electric charge had permanently implanted the command into her brain – you wouldn't believe the number of times that has happened in the past. Racing down the open access corridor, Impulse was the first to reach the emergency stairway, unintentionally skidding to a halt and passing the door entirely. By the time the scarlet-haired speedster regained her footing, Speedy had already arrived and kicked the door of its hinges – it was a little more forceful than she was expecting. The rest of the women clambered into landing, bending over the railing to find the entire stairway pitch black. They must have been miles above the ground floor.

"There's no way we'll get out of here in time." X-23 snapped angrily, facing her so-called mother. "Once again, you managed to screw us over, doctor."

"Hey, hey, no worries." Speedy said smoothly, retrieving an arrow from her quiver. "I got this."

The winter-garbed archer aimed her bow in the direction of the ceiling, releasing the string with a sharp "_twang_". The arrow piercing through the concrete and, for the first time, the girls noticed a length of steel wire connecting the arrow to the archer's quiver. Once making sure the line was secure, Speedy attached the wire to her weapon and jumped over the side of the railing. The women watched Speedy smoothly descend towards the bottom of the stairway, leaving behind a rope for them to climb down. Batgirl urged Impulse to follow first and the scarlet-haired speedster quickly slid down the wire – her protective padding prevented any chances of burning. The Dark Knightess then allowed X-23 to go next, but the Weapon took the chance to leer at her "mother" before sliding down. Batgirl winced at the skin peeling off X-23's palms, but her healing factor would no doubt resolve that problem. The caped crusader signaled the doctor to be the last one before she followed…but the geneticist seemed hesitant.

"Dr. Kinney…" Batgirl called softly. "We need…to go…before…"

"I know, I know." Dr. Kinney interrupted with concern apparent in her voice. "It's just that…Weapon Plus is very…protective of their projects. No one has escaped the Facility since Weapon X – that is to say, since Wolverine went on his blind rampage. Our secret benefactor has made added improvements to make sure there were no loose ends."

"We will…be fine." Batgirl stated firmly, placing a comforting hand on the doctor's shoulder. "I promise."

"I have no doubt that you four will get out of here safely." Dr. Kinney said calmly, quickly scrounging around through her pockets. "There are so many things I want to say to X-23, to my daughter. If I get the chance, I will tell her everything myself. But in case something should happen…" She pried the Dark Knightess' hand open, placing a folded piece of paper into her palm. "I want you to give her this. It has all my thoughts and feelings – everything I've ever wanted to tell her. If I don't make it out alive…promise me you'll give her this."

The silent warrior stared at the small note like it was a wondrous treasure. Though it was clear that X-23 wanted nothing to do with her mother and even blamed her for everything that happened, Dr. Kinney was doing everything within her power to reach out to her, to let her hidden feelings be known. It wasn't until now that Batgirl felt a sort of kinship with the Weapon. Both had been born and raised to be the ultimate weapons and both of them were given the chance to make their own choices in life. But the main difference between them is that X-23's mother was actually concerned for her daughter's wellbeing – the Dark Knightess felt a pang of sadness in her heart.

"You can…tell her…yourself." Batgirl proclaimed, though she pocketed the note in her utility belt anyway. "Hang on."

Securing her arm around the doctor's waist, the white-clothed bat grasped the wire and slowly carried both of them down into the heart of the Weapon Plus Facility.

* * *

><p>"Of all the useless…Ugh!"<p>

It was only minutes after the women had vanished that the insane scientist, Dr. Rice, had drifted out of his state of unconsciousness and realized his current predicament. The weapon had escaped, American Dream and Kimura were beaten effortlessly, Dr. Kinney had finally betrayed them, one of his genetic samples was lost, and he was presently pinned to the wall with his hands behind his back. And to make matters worse, American Dream seemed to be released from his control and would be waking up at any moment. This was not right; this was not how things were supposed to end. He was supposed to make that genetic monstrosity suffer for what Wolverine had done to his father. If they think they're going to get away with this, they have another thing coming.

"Computer, activate voice command override!" Dr. Rice command.

"Voice command override initiated!" The computer responded.

"Disengage contained unit "World" and initiate priority protocol!" Dr. Rice responded. "Activate Weapon XV!"

* * *

><p>Back on the ground floor of the Weapon X Facility, five security drones were collecting the last of the equipment before making the transfer to the new facility. They were blissfully unaware of the escaping superheroes until a blur of scarlet-red hair dashed by and promptly knocked out two guards with skull cracking kicks to the face. The rest of security quickly dropped their cargo and reached for their weapons, but two guards were dropped by electrified arrows to the chest. The last drone never even saw it coming until Batgirl deftly dropped behind him and jabbed her fingers into his collarbone, effectively rendering him unconscious.<p>

"Damn it!" X-23 growled as she dashed into the corridor with her mother. "You couldn't have left a couple for me? There were a couple of…experiments I wanted to try myself."

"I think they're safer this way." Impulse commented.

"The main entry gate is controlled remotely by Dr. Rice's personal computer." Dr. Kinney explained, motioning to the twenty foot steel door separating them from the blistering Canadian winter air. "I could try to access the terminals and override the programming, but it could take a while before I make any progress back the security system."

"Or we could do it the fun way." Speedy suggested.

The blond marksman focused her attention to the experimental Wolverine clone, who instantly understood the message. With an eager smirk adorned on her expression, X-23 unsheathed her adamantium claws and launched herself at the reinforced doorway. Her claws ripped through the alloy like a hot knife to butter, shredding and scraping away the surface piece by piece. Though Batgirl felt she should be a little concerned of how excited X-23 to be cutting something – a trait she inherited from her father no doubt. In under a minute, the last pieces of the steel hatch were tossed asunder and the snowy winds harshly blew into the facility. Though it was admittedly cold for someone wearing only a hospital gown, the sweet smell of freedom was well worth it. This was the first time in fourteen years she had seen the real outside world with her own eyes – it was admittedly breathtaking.

"You're right…" X-23 said, turning back to the girls. "That was fun. Now let's get the fu – did you here that!"

"I didn't hear anything." Impulse stated with some confusion, pulling on her wool cap.

"Maybe you're just a little paranoid." Speedy commented, throwing on her fur hood. "I guess you're still worried about Kimura coming down and beating the living daylights out of you, but don't worry about it. From now on, it's nothing but smooth sai…"

The early celebration was consequently cut short as a pulse of unknown white energy blasted through the side wall of the Facility, engulfing the heroes in its blinding rays. X-23 was blow back by the shockwave of the blast and landed in the snow with a dull thud. As she climbed out of the winter powder, her left check was noticeably scarred by stray bolt of energy – it healed within the first two seconds. Crawling back through the partially collapsed entryway, X-23 quickly scanned her eyes around the ruins of the Weapon X Facility corridors. The rocky surface of the mountain walls were cracked and fractured, the many of the steel support beams were melted, and the smell of burning flesh wafted into the Weapon's nostrils. That was good enough reason to assume the worst.

Fortunately, her concern was misplaced. From the far side of the destroyed corridor, one of the larger piles of rubble shifted until they were forced aside by the emergence of a winter-garbed bat followed by their two minor comrades. Batgirl had thrown herself onto the two younger sidekicks to shield them from the blast, which was deemed successful when they only appeared with a few small cuts in their clothing. Batgirl herself wasn't as badly damaged either. She already had the four cuts on her back from the earlier fight with X-23 and the most the blast did was singe her white clothing and rip a portion of her mask, exposing a few strands of thick, black hair. The Dark Knightess grunted as she pushed away the remaining debris surrounding them.

"Is everyone…all right?" Batgirl asked in concern.

"A-Okay." Impulse replied with a thumbs-up.

"I'm fine." Speedy groaned, massaging her stiff shoulders. As she looked around, she noticed something amiss in the room. "Hey, anyone seen the doc."

"Found her…" X-23 said lowly.

X-23 had followed the scent of charred flesh to the opposite side of the room and discovered what used to be her mother, the famous Dr. Sarah Kinney. At least, she thought it was her mother. It was difficult to tell with her entire skin burned to a charcoal-black, her limbs haphazardly placed in awkward positions, and most of her bones smashed from the piles of fallen rubble on top of her. The only confirmation of her identity was the half-burned ID card on her shredded coat that left a picture of the doctor's formed appearance. Dr. Kinney was dead – there was no question about it. X-23 expected she would be joyful that this day had finally come – this bitch who claimed to be her mother had sold her only daughter for science. But surprisingly enough, she felt nothing. She wasn't happy, sad, confused, angry, or frustrated – she felt…nothing.

Impulse and Speedy looked at each other in concern and tried to march over to the Weapon, but Batgirl kept them in place by their shoulders. She may not be able to see the result of X-23's search, but her repulsed expression gave away that it wasn't a pleasant sight even for the homicidal experiment. Speedy and Impulse may be heroes, but they were still children – they didn't need to be exposed to this kind of stuff yet. Instead, the Dark Knightess turned her thoughts on their attacker, who she just now realized had stepped into the chamber while they were still recovering.

This…thing was unimaginably tall – well past the eight foot mark – and appeared to be just as terrifyingly strong. Its body was covered from head-to-toe in cobalt-blue and violet-purple plating with pitch-black armor beneath, a pair of dark steel-toed boots, six circles of light on its chest, shoulders, and wrists with small electrical nodes, and a pitch-black helmet with violet plating and a single circle of light where the eyes should be **(Weapon XV – Ultimaton)**

Batgirl cautiously pushed the younger sidekicks as X-23 stepped over to stand with her new comrades. Ultimaton stood like a solitary state, merely contenting itself to staring at the four teenagers – well, two teenagers and two minors – with his single glowing eye.

"What is that thing?" X-23 questioned curiously; she had never seen _**that **_in the Facility before.

"I don't know…" Impulse replied thoughtfully, twisting the lens of her goggles. With each turn she made, a slight clicking noise was heard and her field of vision shifted each time: night, x-ray, inferred, gamma, and finally stopping on microwave vision. "But this guy is giving off massive spikes in electromagnetic radiation – more centralized towards the ultraviolet aspect of the spectrum rather than inferred. Luckily, I don't see any traces of gamma, so he mostly stationary in the shorter wavelength."

"Not everyone has an IQ of 200." Speedy commented dryly. "In English, please."

"The guy's a walking sunlamp." Impulse simplified, returning her vision to standard. "The weirdest thing is that he gives off bursts of electromagnetic radiation in the form of electricity. That must be what those nodes on his chest are for."

"What do…you think…he wants?" Batgirl questioned.

"Weapon XV: Ultimaton – Online!" Ultimaton announced mechanically. "Safety protocols – disengaged! Primary objective – capture and contain Weapon X-23! Secondary objective – eliminate all opposition! Engaging battle mode!"

"Uh…it's for you." Speedy remarked.

"I noticed." X-23 snarled, quickly withdrawing all her claws.

The Weapon had worked too hard to be captured this quickly – she had finally got her first breath of freedom. There was no way in hell this mechanical monstrosity was going to drag her back to that hellhole in one piece. The Wolverine didn't even wait to listen to Batgirl's warnings before she charged head-first at Weapon Plus' newest creation. The mechanical sentinel known as Ultimaton held out his fist to the homicidal mutant and discharged a quick burst of electromagnetic energy from the node on his wrist. The Weapon took the strike directly in this stomach and tumbled backwards, but quickly jumped back to her feet and charged again – her wound already closed. This time, Ultimaton held out both fists and released a much larger burst that sent the Wolverine clone flying across the corridor and into the harsh blizzard outside.

The mechanical guardian wasn't worried about destroying the target – its online database showed that her healing factor would soon allow her to recover. But in its momentary distraction, a white-tipped arrow smacked against its cylinder optic with an audible "_**clang**_" and detonated immediately upon impact. Speedy didn't take the time to see if she had done any damage – her experience in this place had taught her never to leave anything to chance. One by one, Speedy pulled out as many arrows as she could from her quiver and released them hard enough to the point where her drawstring threatened to snap. Liquid nitrogen to the legs, electric arrows to the upper body, foam arrows to the waist, and even more explosive arrows towards the head and shoulders – she dumped out all of Hammer's homemade arrows beforehand.

With her arsenal steadily depleting, the winter-garbed archer steadily slackened on her assault, making sure to at least have one arrow knocked against her bow just in case. As the smoke started to dissipate, Speedy couldn't stop herself from groaning aloud with Ultimaton emerging from the beating without even as much as a scratch on his armor. Was this guy made of adamantium? Now that she thought about it, he probably was. Ultimaton threw out his fist again and released another surge of electromagnetic energy, forcing the young archer to roll to the side. Quickly jumping to a kneeling position, Speedy loosened her grip on the drawstring and arrowed another arrow to fly. Unfortunately, Ultimaton was no long amused and captured the around in his giant-sized hand, snapping the shaft like a twig.

Around that time, Impulse was rapidly circling the mechanical Weapon – most likely in an attempt to confuse it – until she diverted in her path and made a quick dash for the machine giant. The scarlet-haired speedster jumped up and slammed both of her heels into Ultimaton's chest…only to be knocked down with minimal effort. Impulse flopped on the ground with a dull groan until she looked up and noticed the mechanical Weapon pointing one of his nodes directly at her. The young speedster quickly back-flipped to dodge the short burst of energy and dashed away to safety.

And while Ultimaton was focused on the minors, he had failed to take into account that one of the sidekicks was missing. That would explain why he was taken by surprise when Batgirl suddenly jumped on his back, blinding with a putty-like substance. She agilely flipped off the machine's back while the Weapon tried ripping the substance off its face, retrieving a small trigger from her belt. With a small flip of the switch, the putty exploded – plastique was always fun. Unfortunately, the most the explosive had done was momentarily disorient the machine, which worked well enough for the former MIA X-23 to get in close enough for the kill. The Wolverine clone slashed her claws across Ultimaton's chest, but the most she was able to do was leave a wide scar in its armor. It wasn't much, but it was still progress.

X-23 decided to swipe her talon for a follow-up attack, but Ultimaton captured the young mutant by the ankle and swung her around in full circle. Consequently, Batgirl was caught in the mutant clone's path and carried along with her as they were both thrown down the corridor in a tangle of limbs. Speedy tried to cover for them by loosening two more explosive arrows, but the most that was able to do was cause it to stagger. Groaning inwardly, Speedy reached behind for another arrow…only to realize she had only one arrow left.

"Slag…" Speedy muttered.

"Fall back!" Batgirl commanded with authority. "Fall back!"

Speedy and Impulse didn't argue – they both obediently jumped for safety behind one of the large piles of debris. X-23 was a little more stubborn, but a quick look of the famous Bat-Glare was more than enough to persuade her. Both girls jumped back with their minor teammates right around the same time Ultimaton decided to blast them.

"This…is bad." Batgirl remarked. "None of…our weapons…are strong enough…to damage him. The closest…thing we have…is X-23's ada…ada…metal claws."

"Then let me at him." X-23 demanded, showing off her claws in emphasis. "I'll rip that son of a…" She stopped herself under Batgirl's heated gaze; there were children present. "…gun into a million pieces."

"Yeah, not gonna happen." Speedy argued knowingly. "That thing – Ultimaton – won't even let you get near him as long as he keep shooting those electric-magnet waves…"

"Electromagnetic." Impulse corrected, giggling lightly.

"Whatever." Speedy pouted; she hated being corrected by someone younger than her. "And even if by some miracle you do manage to get through his defenses, you'll never be able to rip away his armor in time before he counterattacks. Excuse me for saying this, but you're not physically strong enough to do any major damage."

"And I suppose you have a better idea." X-23 glared.

"I do have one arrow left." Speedy claimed, withdrawing said arrow. "Artemis said this is extremely dangerous and should only be used in cases of emergencies."

"I think this counts as an emergency." Impulse commented.

"Artemis was very specific about this arrow." Speedy stated seriously. "She said I should only shoot it within a fifty foot distance and make sure no civilians are caught in the crossfire."

"What is it?" X-23 asked curiously.

"No idea, but I think we're about to find out." Speedy said, knocking the arrow on her bow. "Now, anyone got any ideas on how to get the big guy outside and to a safe distance."

"I might…have an…idea." Batgirl said slowly.

Meanwhile, Ultimaton scanned the area for any signs of the Weapon and her would-be liberators. So far, they have been unnaturally silent and were extra careful to stare outside his range of vision. Scanners showed that they were still somewhere hidden in the Facility, but where could they - a brief flash of movement caught his attention. Turning in that general direction, Ultimaton spotted the young speedster bravely making a charge for the mechanical Weapon. Though the idea of a direct assault seemed rather pointless – she was too physically weak to harm him. But the intention was never to harm him. Taking advantage of Ultimaton's moment of calculation, the scarlet-haired speedster climbed the towering sentinel like a rabid monkey. Once at his shoulders, the young sidekick obscured his vision with a handful of putty she obtained from Batgirl.

Blinded by the same tactic twice – that was just illogical. But while Ultimaton busied himself with removing the obscurity and Impulse jumped down to safety, X-23 dived in and stabbed her claws and talons directly into the Weapon's chest. The force behind her attack was enough to rip a wide hole in the machine's torso and throw Ultimaton off his feet and onto his back. Perfect. Once X-23 flipped off Weapon XV, Batgirl tossed a batarang attacked to a thick thread of steel wire and watched it tangle around Ultimaton's ankles. The Dark Knightess ripped the wire from her suit and handed off the cord to the young speedster.

"Impulse – GO!" Batgirl shouted.

"On it!" Impulse saluted.

Under normal circumstances, the scarlet-haired speedster would never have been able to drag an enormous load at once. But calculating her body weight times her rate of speed, the youngest superhero was able to put in enough force behind the cord and dragged the heavy machine out into the snowy wilderness. Impulse was dangerously close to reaching light speed with the amount of force she was exerting and her…condition would be a problem. Thankfully, the young sidekick was able to reach a safe distance and released her grip on the wire, dropping off the mechanical Weapon before making a U-turn back to the Facility. As she made her final approach to the main entrance, she found Speedy standing poised where her bow ready to fire.

"Now!" Impulse screamed as she passed by.

Speedy her the signal and watched to the mystery arrow fly skyward – the drawstring of her bow finally snapped. Back with Ultimaton, the cold environment managed to solidify the putty and he was able to remove it with ease before he noticed the sudden change in his environment. They had dragged him out into the surrounding forest, but for what purpose. And not a second later, his questioned once answered when the unknown arrow fell from the sky…and landed in the opening off his armor. That girl is either incredibly talented or extremely lucky. A brief spark of electricity passed through the shaft and then…boom.

A ripping wave of radioactive energy ignited from the center of Ultimaton's location, literally obliterating everything within a thirty foot radius of the blast zone. Though they were at a safe distance, the colossal shockwaves radiating from the explosion finally destroyed the last support beam holding the main entrance hall together. As the tunnel started collapsing above them, Batgirl and X-23 grabbed Speedy and Impulse respectively and dived for the snow banks outside, barely escaping potential death. One by one, each of the four heroes emerged from the winter powder, observing the extensive damage caused by their tactics. A thirty crater was left behind from where the arrow landed, wiping out all existence of any plant life. And the best part of it was...Ultimaton was nowhere to be found.

"Oh, so that's what it does." Speedy commented causally.

"Are you insane!" Impulse exclaimed frantically. "What kinda of insane moron gives an eleven year-old girl a miniature nuclear warhead?"

"Well, it doesn't matter how it happened." X-23 sighed in relief, falling back into the snow in exhaustion. "All that matters is that it's finally over."

"Yes…" Batgirl said, joining the others in the snow. "Over…"

After an extensive stay at the torturous Weapon Plus Facility, the nightmare was finally over…..Yeah right. Before the girls were given a chance to finally relax, the snow exploded from under them and Ultimaton made his dramatic return, though he was a little worse for wear. His armor plating was shattered in various places, there were multiple leaks in his systems, and his right arm was missing entirely. But despite these obvious weaknesses, the girls were in no shape to continue fighting. With their energy and their weapons completely exhausted, they were helpless against Ultimaton's power. Weapon XV raised its only functional power node and started charging up its energy when he was unexpectedly interrupted by a harsh snarl. But it wasn't X-23 – this one was deeper and rougher. In a flash, Ultimaton's head was sliced into four separate parts and its body fell uselessly into a heap of junk off to the side. In the wake of the Weapon's destruction, their rescuer looked down on them – his blue and yellow costume covered in snow and his three metal claws glinting in the sunlight.

"Wolverine…" X-23 murmured softly.

Yes, Wolverine had come to save the day and it became quickly apparent that he wasn't alone. One by one, members of the Justice League appeared from the sky, surrounding the sidekicks and the fallen entrance of the Facility. Speedy and Impulse stared in absolute awe – this was the first time they had seen the Justice League as a whole. To their right was Superman, Static, Iron Man, and Doctor Fate. To their left was Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Warhawk, and Raven. And being carried by the Green Lantern himself was the collection consisting of Batman, Aquagirl, Artemis, Spider-Girl, Micron, Spoiler, and the Avatar – as usual, the Flash was the last one to show up. This was a big day indeed.

"Speedy!" Artemis shouted strictly; the aforementioned sidekick flinched at the tone. The leading archer was examining the damage caused by her young protégée "Did you use _**that **_arrow?"

"It's was an emergency." Speedy argued weakly.

"Yeah, well, you're just lucky we managed to spot it in the distance." Wolverine said gruffly. "When we didn't hear you guys after a few hours, we got worried and started lookin' for ya. If Big Blue Boy Scout hadn't seen the blast, we never would have found ya." He looked over the girls, noticing an unmentioned addition. "And who's this."

Though it seemed only obvious to Batgirl, that comment seemed to strike a nerve in the Weapon – her fists were shaking angrily.

"This is…"

"My codename is X-23!" X-23 interrupted rudely, withdrawing her claws dangerously close to the original's face. "And I am Wolverine's clone!"

Well, that was one way to break the ice. Though it was a bit surprising to hear that the most dangerous mutant in the world had been cloned – a female clone at that – it wasn't the strangest thing the Justice League had seen.

"Clearly we have a lot to talk about." Batman said calmly, stepping between the two. "So, who want to go first?"

* * *

><p>So for the better part of an hour, the Justice League spent the time investigating the fallen Facility and interrogating the group that had been put through the troubling events. American Dream was finally back in her right mind and willingly told Iron Man and Martian Manhunter everything she remember from her time under their control. Superman took Dr. Rice away to Stryker's Island and the Avatar called SHIELD headquarters for Kimura to be safely transferred to Alcatraz. Static and Green Lantern worked together to collect the pieces of Ultimaton and decided to send it to STAR Labs – they might be able to figure out how it operated.<p>

X-23 watched with minimal interest as Batman, Flash, and Artemis questioned their protégées over today's events when she was suddenly approached by Wolverine. The famous Weapon X looked down at his female clone and – much to the surprise of the Weapon – pulled back his mask to see her with his own eyes. He was definitely hairy, his hair was combed in such and odd way, and his sideburns were beastly…but there were some aspects about him that weren't as frightening. More particularly, the soft gaze in his eyes that made X-23 want to look away in embarrassment. He looked too kind; she wasn't used to that sort of look.

"So…X-23." Wolverine said hesitantly. "The girls were just telling me about what happened…and what went on in that place." X-23 steeled her gaze away from him. "Listen, I know it's kinda sudden, but if you ever need anything, don't be afraid to ask. The Justice League will help you – I will help you, ok."

"I can take care of myself." X-23 said stubbornly. "I don't need anyone's help."

"I used to think the same way." Wolverine said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. She quickly threw it off. "I know you might think you're alone in the world, but you're not. Those girls risked their neck to keep you safe…and I'll do the same thing if I have to. It might sound strange coming from me, but it is a father's job to look out for his daughter."

"You're not my father." X-23 proclaimed harshly. "You're just a genetic template I was built off of."

"If you say so." Wolverine sighed, returning the mask over his face. "But if you ever need anything, just let me know."

She wasn't holding her breath. At the moment her supposed 'father' left her to deal with official Justice League matters, she was quickly approached by the girls and their mentors.

"The girls finished explaining everything to us and it's obvious we still have a lot of issues to work out." Batman stated in a manner that proved his leadership role. "But it's late and I'm sure you girls are tired after everything that's happened. We'll continue this discussion tomorrow. The Martian Manhunter has agreed to provide you temporary rooming in the Metro Tower until we can solve this whole living issue."

"Whatever." X-23 scoffed.

"Get some rest, all of you." Batman commanded. "You have a big day tomorrow."

Speedy and Impulse didn't argue – they had already fallen asleep in the middle of the interrogation and were currently being carried on the backs of their mentors. With a quick nod, Flash zipped down the snowy path on the way to Iris's home and Artemis agreed to hitch a ride with the Avatar since they were heading in the same direction. And while Batman waited until his personalized vehicle had arrived, Batgirl took this opportunity to approach the young clone while she still had a chance.

"X…" Batgirl said softly. The Weapon looked back curiously, somewhat surprised to see the Dark Knightess holding out a folded piece of paper. "It is…from your mother. She wanted…you to have it…in case…something happened."

"So that's from Dr. Kinney, huh?" X-23 said lowly; Batgirl nodded. "Keep it. If it's from that bitch, it's obviously nothing good."

"But…your mother…"

"When will people get it through their thick skulls!" X-23 seethed. "I'm am a clone! I don't have a mother or a father – I don't have any family! Period!"

The Dark Knightess didn't know what to say at this point – words were never her strong point. Based on her movements, X-23 was stern in her belief – that she was entirely alone and had no one to call family. Even after all the sacrifice her mother made to ensure that X-23 made it out safely, the young clone merely spat at her efforts. Cassandra felt another pang of sadness.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Neo Gotham City – December 31, 23:57 EDT<strong>_

Gotham City Square was filled with light and sounds from the millions who have gathered to witness the coming of the New Years. Any moment now, the Golden Ball – provided by Wayne-Powers Enterprise, of course – would drop and the real celebration would begin. And with such a big turn out this year, it was no surprise that Batman himself would be watching the show from the shadows of the rooftop – how anyone could find a shadow in such a bright area was beyond me. While the Dark Knight closely observed the festivities, Batgirl – garbed in her regular attire – silently approached her mentor.

"Well, that mission went worse than I expected." Batman stated. "When I assigned it to you three, I was hoping for something like a minor villain like Mister Sinister or the League of Assassins. I wasn't expecting you to walk out of there with a mad scientist, an S-Class criminal, machine hybrid, and a mutant clone. I have got to plan these out more."

"But…in the end…the primary…object…was obtained." Batgirl stated slowly.

"Objective." Batman corrected. "And I guess you're right. I originally set up this scenario to see if they were good choices for the project I've been planning. I heard good things about them from Flash and Artemis, but I wanted to hear it from someone I could trust. So, what's your expert opinion?"

"Speedy and Impulse…" Batgirl answered. "They were…better…than you had…originally…expected them…to be. They are…smart…dedicated…resourceful…and skilled…in their own…practice. They are…suitable…candy dates…for the project…you are…working on."

"Candidates, Cass." Batman chuckled amusing; the countdown was starting. "And X-23? What's your opinion on her?"

"She is…" Batgirl said with uncertainty. "Brash…wild…unruly…stubborn…and does not…appear to take…to kindly…to others. But…I feel that…if she spent…more time…with the team…she might…be able… to prove herself. I think…she would make…a good…candy date."

"I trust your judgment, Cass." Batman stated confidently. "And I trust you to keep her in line."

"Of course." Batgirl nodded.

"Batgirl, Speedy, Impulse, and X-23." Batman recited. "I think we found our candidates for the Birds of Prey Project."

**3…**

**2…**

**1…**

"**HAPPY NEW YEAR!"**

* * *

><p><strong>Please, read and review – just one would be nice.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong><span>Justice League Profile<span>**

**Name: **Batman  
><strong>Real Name: <strong>Terrance "Terry" McGinnis  
><strong>Aliases: <strong>Dark Knight, Batman Beyond  
><strong>Designation: <strong>02  
><strong>Age: <strong>21  
><strong>Relatives: <strong>Warren McGinnis (Father; Deceased), Mary McGinnis (Mother), Matthew McGinnis (Brother), Bruce Wayne (Genetic Father), Spider-Girl (Fiancé)  
><strong>MentorPartner(s): **Bruce Wayne, Spoiler, Batgirl, Oracle, Catwoman, Azrael, Lady Shiva, Dick Grayson, Barbara Gordon, Jason Todd, Tim Drake  
><strong>Affiliation(s): <strong>Batman Family, Batman Incorporated, Justice League, Wayne-Powers Enterprises  
><strong>Occupation: <strong>Personal assistant, college student  
><strong>PowersAbilities:  
><strong>- Trained to physical and mental peak  
>- Arsenal of gadgets, vehicles, and advanced technology<br>- Expert in most known forms of martial arts  
>- Trained in all aspects of criminology<br>- Multilingual  
><strong>Notes:<br>**- Leader and least experienced of the Justice League  
>- Criminal record<br>- Majoring in criminal justice  
>- Publically funded by Batman Incorporated<br>- Currently unaware of relationship to Bruce Wayne


	7. Restart

**Birds of Prey**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own DC, Marvel, or any other characters outside of OCs.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter six: Restart<span>**

_**Metropolis – January 3, 2066 – 13:41 EDT**_

The days of Weapon X seemed like a dream to X-23. It was hard to believe that just three days ago, she was sitting in her confinement cell to await her next training session until she was liberated by girls in spandex. And now she was staring out into the city of Metropolis from the Justice League Metrotower, which was serving as her temporary place of residence. The Wolverine clone shifted in her seat with her legs propped on the table, anxiously waiting for the others to show up. Batman had called up everyone that had taken part in the Weapon X fiasco – most likely to get a detailed report – and asked that everyone dress in civilian clothing for the day. A rather odd request, but the girls consented.

Because X-23 didn't have any clothing and couldn't walk around in a hospital gown for the rest of her life, the Martian Manhunter reluctantly – or irritably to be more precise – assisted in acquiring new attire. Though X-23 made sure to set a couple of ground rules: no tights, no capes, and very offensive. The two-clawed clone looked over herself, mentally applauding the pasty alien for her taste in clothing. She wore a pitch-black top with a pair of matching pitch-black leather pants, a pair of pitch-black, knee-length combat boots, a pair of pitch-black, elbow-length gloves, and a black choker. The Martian had also included a golden loop belt with an "X" buckle, claiming it to be 'appropriate'. It was an obvious reference to her genetic template, but she liked it. **(1)**

"**Recognize!**" The computer announced, snapping X-23 back to reality. "**Flash – 04! Impulse – B03!**"

"Hey, Talon!" Irey yelled boisterously once exiting the Boom Tube.

That's right, no one called her X-23 anymore. Since Iris – or Irey, as she liked to be called – and Speedy were X's only regular visitors, they've taken it upon themselves to give her a superhero name since X-23 made her sound like a lab rat – the was one of the few things they could agree on. After rejecting over twenty different names, Iris came up with Talon because of the Adamantium claws on her feet. It was both lethal and appropriate.

Talon leaned back slightly as Iriey zoomed across the room and settled herself on the armrest of the mutant clone's chair – she seems to hold a fascination of the mutant weapon. By comparison to her Impulse persona, Iris looked childishly innocent with her shoulder-length, fiery-orange hair and jade-green eyes. She was wearing a turquoise shirt with a pair of navy-blue jeans and a pair of red sneakers with lightning bolt logos – the soles are most likely resistant to friction. The Flash shook his head and chuckled amusingly as his sidekick was swinging her legs restlessly in anticipation – Talon surmised that all speedsters were constantly moving.

"All right!" Irey cheered, which seemed rather random. "We're not the last ones here!"

"But you're not the first either."

Walking through the door to the communications center/lounge room was Speedy – or Mia Dearden outside her costume persona – alongside her mentor, Artemis. Behind her domino mask was a pair of deep-blue eyes and her golden-blond hair tied into a low to match her teacher. For today, she opted to wear a red plaid shirt with a pair of navy jeans completed with black boots. The younger archer was also holding a glass of pink liquid, which, despite its appearance, held a foul smell and probably tasted worse. Talon was fully aware that Mia needed to drink this liquid in order to combat her HIV and the mutant clone felt overwhelming respect for the girl. For an 11 year-old girl to fight against something that had frightened even the bravest of men showed strength of will worthy of the Green Lantern.

But the archers weren't alone – they had been joined by someone Talon had only met a couple of times, but knew very well. He had the appearance of a young adult despite being closer to his eighties with a very muscular form and jet-black hair cut in military style. His costume was segmented with bright-red shoulders followed by rich-blue torso and arms, and returning to bright-red for the lower half. He also wore bright-red gloves with yellow rings around his forearms and the traditional "S" Shield stamped across his chest. Though Talon was far a girly-girl, she did think that he was…admitted…cute. **(Connor Kent/Kon-El – Superman) (2)**

"Hitched a ride with Supey earlier." Artemis explained. "The Boy Scout was trying to chase down Metallo in the South End and ended up getting drained by his Kryptonite heart. The big guy is just lucky we were doing an early morning patrol."

"Yeah, yeah, don't need to hear that for the thousandth time." Superman mumbled uncomfortably.

"Batman asked all the sidekicks – and Talon – to show up in civvies, right?" Mia questioned, earning a nod from the other girls. "So that also means Batgirl's going to be showing up in civvies, right?"

"Hey, that's right!" Irey exclaimed excitedly; Talon was starting to regret her heightened senses. "I've never seen Batgirl's face before – she's always wearing that mask and barely ever talks. I bet she's pretty."

"Or looks like Talon." Mia laughed, which was quickly silenced by the mutant's glare. "Not funny, not funny at all."

"**Recognize!**" The computer announced, directing everyone's attention to the Boom Tube Transporter. "**Batman – 02! Oracle – 00! Batgirl – B01!**"

The Justice League members and their sidekicks were up to greet their leader, who had made a surprising change in his costume since their last meeting on New Year's Day. The new Batsuit resembled the previous one in many ways, but showed off more of his muscular form, the ears were less pointed, and the added inclusion of a black cape with dark-red inside lining **(3)**. And the young woman joining him must have been the Justice League infamous hacker/information broker: Oracle. She was a beautiful and certainly curvy woman with waist-length blond hair and perfectly flawless skin – the female heroes were starting to feel insecure. She wore an apple-red shirt that hugged her breasts tightly, a pair of pure-white jeans, and pair of red sneakers. She was tinkering with her silver watch, which was actually a personalized computer – isn't the future great? **(Delia Dennis – Oracle)**

Though curious as to the reason brought in the team hacker, the sidekicks ignored her and focused their attention on the great mystery of Batgirl's secret identity. Batman and Oracle – obvious to their excitement – stepped aside and displayed Batgirl…completely covered. It seemed the Dark Knightess had taken extreme measure to secure her identity. She had chosen to wear a violet-purple shirt with a black jacket over top, a pair of black pants, and matching black shoes. Her face was completely covered by the pair of dark-lensed sunglasses, a violet-purple scarf around her mouth, and the hood thrown over her head – not a trace of her true identity.

"Oh, come on!" Irey and Mia whined.

"Hey, Bats, new suit?" Superman commented jokingly. "Don't you know capes are so last century? The last suit you had wasn't that bad, though it kinda made you look scrawny."

"We've been working on this particular Batsuit for the last eight months." Oracle informed, very aware of Batman's short temper. "We've added a number of special features to this suit including magnetic functions for stealth ops, Vibranium cape for defensive purposes, and an automated computer interface similar to Iron Man's designs. This new suit is a heavy improvement from the original."

"Whatever you say." Superman said mockingly, placing a hand on the bat's shoulder. "I still think it looks kinda – going down."

The others jumped back in surprise and the seemingly invincible Man of Steel dropped to the floor like a lead weight.

"Yeah, probably not a good idea to touch him." Oracle warned apprehensively. "We designed the suit to be powered by a Kryptonite battery. A clean, efficient source of energy and good Kryptonian repellent."

"You couldn't have warned me earlier?" Superman groaned as Artemis and Flash helped him up.

"I could have…But where's the fun in that." Batman smirked, much to Superman's annoyance. "Now let's back to the reason were' all here. Batgirl, Speedy, Impulse, and Talon – the four of you have been selected to take part in a project I've been working on."

"Exactly how many projects do you have?" Artemis questioned exasperatedly.

"You don't wanna know." Batman remarked. "The Justice League has become known to the public and our forces have been spread too thin; even Spoiler and I have difficulty maneuvering around the media. This puts us at a disadvantage against villains like Queen Bee and HYDRA, who will be able to track our movements though the news and other forms of communication. That's why I decided to create separate division in the Justice League roster purposed for Black Ops, infiltration, and, if necessary, reinforcement. The reason you for were selected was because you exist below the radar of their attention and the world knows little about you other than you are sidekicks to the Justice League."

"I'm no sidekick." Talon sneered.

"Be that as it may, no one knows anything about you." Batman continued. "We can use that to our advantage. Originally, it was supposed to be Daken instead of Talon, but after what happened, I had to change a few things around. The purpose of the mission in Canada was for Batgirl to evaluate your performance in the field. Though we weren't expecting…well…pretty much everything that happened. But according to what Batgirl told me, you all handled yourself pretty well when the situation called for it."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" Irey shouted; her hands flailing. "Batgirl knew about this?"

"Yes." Batgirl said simply. "I am…sorry…for de-sleeving you."

"Deceiving." Batman corrected, refocusing his attention to the girls. "You four will act as the Justice League's covert team under the name of 'The Birds of Prey' – the name used by the team formed by the original Batgirl/Oracle. You mission: complete all assignments given without being seen." He redirected his attention to the blond hacker. "Oracle will be acting as you mission director and information broker – everything she says goes, got it?" The girls nodded; Talon more reluctant. "I also called in a few favors from some old friends. One will be in charge of your physical and mental training while the other will be living in the Metrotower as your caretaker."

"You mean a nanny?" Mia complained. "We don't need a nanny."

"Yes, you do." Batman said in a final tone. "I'm not leaving the Justice League's Earth headquarters in the hands of a dyslexic mute, a sickly archer, a hyperactive child, and a mutant with a short temper. The others will be here within an hour, so I expect you to be on your best behavior when they arrive. Any questions?" Iris and Speedy raised their hands. "Good. If you need anything, ask Oracle. Artemis, Flash…Boy Scout, you're with me."

"Where're you going?" Talon questioned.

"The grown-ups have some business to take care of downtown." Flash said jokingly, ruffling little Irey's hair. "Try not to mess up the place too much or Waller will have our heads. I'm serious, she has human heads frozen in her basement; it's very creepy."

"We'll be back in a couple hours." Batman informed as he walked away with the other heroes following. "Oracle is in charge until we get back."

For some reason, the girls felt like they were being treated like little kids – in Mia and Irey's case, that was true. Since they had a couple of hours to kill, everyone went off doing their own thing. Mia walked down to the twelfth floor to the Aquaculture Area – a little green spot in the midst of a technological fortress. Irey wanted to play around in the archives and hope to find the Cosmic Treadmill and travel back in time, but Oracle was smart enough to increase security around the tower beforehand. The girl may be fast, but not faster than the speed of light. This left Talon to regain her semi-quiet environment as she leaned back into her favorite comforter, sighing in sweet relief. Unfortunately, she never had a moment of peace these days. Her heightened sense alerted her to the fact that Batgirl was still in the longue room, despite not being seen or heard – this girl was a freakin' ninja!

"What'd ya want?" Talon groaned, leaning back further into her chair. "Can't you see I'm trying to relax here?"

"This…" Batgirl said slowly, digging through the pocket of her jacket. The mutant teenager looked over with minimal interest as the Dark Knightess pulled out a folded piece of paper. Talon remembered; Dr. Kinney left that for her. "Your mother…wanted you…to have this. I think…you should…"

"I don't have to do anything." Talon answered shortly. "That woman was not my mother, just a scientist that wanted to exploit me as a guinea pig for her little Weapon X Project. I don't want anything to do with that bitch and there's nothing in that letter that will make me think otherwise."

"You never know." Batgirl said with traces of certainty in her voice. The hooded sidekick gently placed the folded message on the coffee table next clear in the mutant clone's line of sight. "In case…you change…your mind."

Talon stared at the message for only a short few second before looking back up to Batgirl…only to find the space completely empty. The teenage mutant clone sat up straight in her seat, jerking her head left and right for the Dark Knightess – how the hell do they do that? Choosing to investigate the matter later, Talon stared back at the folded paper. The last words of Dr. Sarah Kinney were written on this little notes and Talon couldn't help feeling a little curious as to what the woman who birthed her had to say in her final moments. But years of anger and tortured overrides her curiosity – she hoped the bitch was burning in hell.

* * *

><p>LuthorCorp – once under the name LexCorp – was the world's largest, most diversified multinational corporations, easily toppling competitors such as Wayne-Powers Enterprise and Stark Industries. Though there was a time when LuthorCorp was in danger of crumbling under the weight of its own mistakes under to the power-driven authority of Lex Luthor. And it only became worse when Luthor was finally caught for his crimes against humanity, sending LexCorp spiraling to a financial depression. It took many years for Lena Luthor to repair the damage made by her incompetent father, spending a vast fortune to erase his legacy, even the company name. But in the end, she was successful and one of the most popular business owners in the world.<p>

Lena Luthor was sitting in her office, finishing financial reports that would have taken a man many hours to complete in only five minutes. One of the advantages of being a 13th level intellect is that you have too much free time on your hands. At times like this, Lena would walk over to the fully stocked bar table to make a glass of her favorite _Côte de Nuits_, curl up into the most comfortable lounge chair money can buy, and read her newest romance novel. What can she say? Lena's a sucker for a passionate story. But just as she opened the cover of her novel…

"Ms. Luthor, you have a visitor."

Lena sighed and closed her book – figures someone would bother her during her relaxation period. The blond business woman turned in her seat to her expressionless and oddly pigmented assistant. She looked mostly like a human teenage girl with the exception of the lightly-colored indigo skin with bubblegum-pink hair and fiery-red eyes. Her attire was hardly considered appropriate for a place of business: a very thin black top with a gap in the center, a dangerously short black skirt, a pair of jet-black boots, a pair of black wristbands. But despite all her oddities, everyone in LuthorCorp didn't bat an eye at Lena's assistant – their brains were too dull from working all day. **(Brainiac 8 – Indigo)**

"Of course there is." Lena moaned, setting her book aside. "Show them in."

The Brainiac android bow in confirmation and stepped out of the room to invite the new arrives. The best thing about a cybernetic assistant was that they were tireless, efficient, and never questioned orders. Groaning over the loss of her peace and quiet, Lena stood and tried to make herself look presentable just in time for Indigo to return with their visitors. The blond businesswoman smiled impishly when Batman and Superman walked through the doors with her assistant. Lena also noticed the archer of Star City and the speedster of Central City standing on either side of the door, most likely to make sure no one got in or out, before Indigo closed the doors behind them. Lena did like her privacy, especially when it involved handsome superheroes.

"Ah, Connor, Terrance." Lena greeted coyly. "What a pleasant surprise. I wasn't expecting to see you this early – I was under the impression that Batman burned in sunlight."

"Blade thought the same thing, too." Superman snickered. "But could we ask you not to refer to us like that? You never know who might be listening with super-hearing."

"Of course, of course." Lena waved casually. "The whole secret identity thing – I understand. So…" She took a seat at her desk, grinning playfully at the costumed heroes. "Does the fact that you two are here mean that the Justice League is finally accepting my generous offer of a LuthorCorp sponsorship?"

"Hell will freeze over before we accept anything from you, Luthor." Batman responded coldly.

"And yet, I happen to know you still have Stark Industries sponsoring you." Lena proclaimed casually, turning in her seat to stare out towards her impressive view of the city. "Ever since Howard was killed in that plane crash and due to the younger Stark being underage, Obadiah will be running the Stark Industries for quite a while. And I'm sure Tony – or should I say Iron Man – has informed you of Obadiah's many…unethical dealings."

"Obadiah can be handled." Superman stated with certainty. "The Luthors, on the other hand, are more slippery than a greased eel. Wow, I never thought I would use that analogy.

"Look, you don't trust me because of my father's murky history and that is understandable." Lena said earnestly as she turned back to the heroes. "But I am not my father. I have done nothing but pushed the world to a better tomorrow and have publically supported the Justice League. I just want to help so I can erase the sins of my father."

"You wanna help, huh?" Batman said lowly, reaching into his cape. When he pulled back his hand, the Dark Knight tossed an old fashioned folder on the surface of her hardwood desk – who used folders anymore? "Maybe you could tell us more about a little development invested by LuthorCorp. Something called the Weapon X Project."

* * *

><p>The girls were more restless than usual, Oracle noted. Even the constantly calm and collected Batgirl seemed a little fidgety and she was trained to perfection. It wasn't too surprising for the team hacker. She remembered what it was like to be that age, looking for something new and exciting to happen. That is consequently what lead Delia and her twin sister, Deidre, to becoming the Dee-Dee Twins of the Jokerz street gang – not her most glamorous time, but she did look good in tight clothes and a yarn wig.<p>

"**Oracle.**" The computer announced, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. "**The supervisors assigned by Batman have arrived and are awaiting access to the Boom Tube system.**"

"Ok, let them in, Jocasta." Oracle casually waved; her eyes never leaving the holographic computer screen.

"Jocasta?" Mia repeated strangely. "That thing has a name?"

"**I am Jocasta, Batman's personalized artificial intelligence assistant program.**" The computer deity known as Jocasta stated monotonously. "**I was personally automated by Mr. Bruce Wayne and Dr. Henry Pym to aid Batman and his allies in every endeavor I am capable of. I have automatic control over the Justice Leagues electric systems as designed by Oracle.**" Said Hacker grinned proudly. "**And if you ever refer to me as a thing again, I will make sure your stay in the Metrotower very…unpleasant.**"

"A program with an attitude." Talon sniggered. "Nice."

"**Recognize!**" Jocasta exclaimed. "**Judomaster – C08! Poison Ivy – C12!**"

That certainly caught their attention. Everyone from Gotham to Star City acknowledged Poison Ivy as one of the most lethal members of the original Batman's Rogue Gallery – people were sure she had wilted by now. But as the Boom Tube closed behind them, the four Birds and team hacker stared down the new arrivals. The first of them was tall and wiry with a crop of ink-black hair tied back into a high ponytail. Her uniform was a full-body red suit with yellow details spread across the surface to give the appearance of shining sun and a single yellow circle stamped on the forehead of her mask – her dedication to the Japanese legacy was apparent. **(Sonia Sato – Judomaster)**

The second visitor wasn't that difficult to identify even for someone who had never seen her before. Her skin and unnatural shade of venomous-green and her fairy-red hair wavy like a rolling flame, which would seem rather ironic with all things considered. Her costume – as opposed to her usually sensual attire – was toned down to a simple one-piece black suit with leafy-green patches covering half of the surface. Based on the way she was smiling so cheerfully and the fact that Oracle was able to communicate with her so casually made it appear as if she was almost friendly. **(Pamela Lillian Isley – Poison Ivy) (4)**

"Pam, Sonia, nice to see you made it all right." Oracle commented before noticing the plant mistress looking greener than usual. "Well, for the most part. Don't worry, you'll get used to Boom Tube travel after a while.

"Konnichiwa, Oracle-Sama." Judomaster folded her hands and bowed respectfully. "Arigatou gozaimasu for granting us the privilege of joining you this day."

"Yeah…what she said." Poison Ivy nodded with a hint of uncertainty; Japanese wasn't her specialty. But ignoring that, the green-skinned woman smiled gently as she fiddled with Oracles wavy hair. "Delia, you are looking more and more like your grandmother everyday – minus the face paint, the clown costume, and the handcuffs."

"I think Deidre resembles Nana Harley more than me." Oracle said jokingly before turning their attention to the Birds. "Everyone, these will be your supervisors during your stay in the Birds of Prey. Judomaster is in charge of training and preparing you for the physical aspects of your missions. Poison Ivy has agreed to be your stay-at-home nanny at the Metrotower."

"So you're leaving our health and safety in the hands of an eco-terrorist." Irey huffed with her arms crossed. "There is no way I'm gonna…"

"I've got candy." Poison Ivy interrupted, waving a square of chocolate.

"Pammy!" Irey cheered, hugging the ex-villainess.

"You are a horrible superhero!" Mia snapped at Irey. "Though I don't usually question Batman's judgment, I don't think it's a good idea to have one of the original Batman's most deadly villains taking care of us. I mean, I kinda feel safe with Batgirl watching out for us, but Talon being on the team kinda cancels that out." She bluntly ignores the lethal glare from said mutant. "Why would you want to be our nanny?"

"As you already know, I wasn't the most…upstanding citizen" Poison Ivy said softly, setting Irey on the couch to gorge on chocolate. "When Dr. Woodrue poisoned me and I inherited my powers, I thought I was doing the right thing to protect the earth by ridding the world of the plague of humanity. Though my intentions were good, I went about it the wrong way by blaming humanity – the old Batman showed me that. So once my sentence in Arkham was over, I devoted myself to botanical research and helping in environmentally active organizations around the globe. And besides…" She poked Irey's cheek, earning a small giggled from the girl. "I kinda have a soft spot for children."

"I don't know." Mia said with doubt.

"She is being…Sinclair." Batgirl proclaimed; everyone wondered if they should correct her. "I can…read her body…movements. She honestly…wants to help. I think…we should…give her…a chance."

"All right." Mia mumbled slowly. "If Batgirl says so, we'll trust ya for now. But I'll be watching you – I've got eyes like a hawk. Uh…not to be confused with Hawkeye, I'm just saying…you know."

"Right." Poison Ivy nodded.

"Ok, so we've got a nanny." Talon said arrogantly, sauntering over to the red and yellow heroine. "But why do we need a trainer? I mean, I was trained to be a living weapon from birth and Batgirl could probably kick everyone's ass. What do we need sunshine for?"

"There is more to strength than just physical power." Judomaster said philosophically. "But if you wish to be enlightened, I implore you to face me."

"You wanna take me on?" Talon snickered confidently, ripping out her claws in a menacing fashion. "You are seriously going to regret that."

* * *

><p>"Project Weapon X, huh?" Lena Luthor repeated, tapping her chin in thought. "Now that name sounds vaguely familiar. Wasn't that the experiment that turned the Wolverine's skeletal structure into pure adamantium? With an unbreakable skeleton and an advanced healing factor, that would make him nearly immortal. By why are you asking me? As I recall correctly, Dr. Abraham Cornelius was responsible for the project before his…unfortunate demise."<p>

"Don't try to act dumb, Luthor." Superman commanded sternly. "We all know you're probably smarter than both of us combined." The Dark Knight turned to him with an exasperated glare. "Ok, that came out wrong. But we both know you had something to do with Weapon Plus. Batman did a little research and found out that the Weapon Plus and the Weapon X Project both received enormous amounts of funding provided by LuthorCorp in the last five years. We also got a full confession from Dr. Rice saying he was working on the project under your orders."

"Doctor Zander Rice, huh?" Lena hummed thoughtfully. "If that is the case, then I have been funding for Dr. Rice's experiments. But it's not what you might think." Stepping out of her comfortable chair, the blond business woman treaded over to the scenic view of the city. "As you may already know, metahumans – or sometimes called mutants – make up 30 percent of the Earth's population; not counting Atlanteans and sorcerers. While people like the X-Men and the citizens of Utopia have come to terms with their differences, there are some who wish to be free of the burden. When heard that Dr. Rice was experimenting on metahumans genetics, I thought I would finance his experiments in hopes that he would create a cure for mutants who wished to be human again. I really had high hopes for Dr. Rice and his assistant, Dr. Kinney. How is she by the way?"

"She's dead." Batman replied bluntly.

"Hmm, tragic." Lena responded. "But I can honestly say I was unknown to Dr. Rice's side project." She picked up the folder Batman had handed to her earlier. "If your information is correct, this…Weapon X-23 was created nine years before started funding Dr. Rice's research and five years before I was legally old enough to take over my father's company. The facts show that I couldn't have possibly had any involvement in this sort of underhanded dealing – it sounds like something my father certainly would have been interested. But if you still don't believe me." She faced her cybernetic assistant. "Indigo, please download all data file pertaining any to Dr. Zander Rice and/or Dr. Sarah Kinney to the Batman's computer."

"Yes, ma'am." Indigo bowed.

The oddly-pigmented android faced the Dark Knight with her eyes glowing cherry-red and the glowing symbol of three dots connected in a triangular pattern appeared on her forehead – the mark of Brainiac. At that instant, Batman's built-in computer system was activated and released a holographic projection from the suit's forearm. It scared him to know that Lena could penetrate all his defenses in the blink of an eye. As promised, everything involving LuthorCorp's and Dr. Rice was opened to him: financial records, progress reports, insurance statements, and everything in between. There were also some files on other projects Lena had assigned him including…

"Project Venom?" Batman questioned seriously.

"I've recently gained an interest in the functionality of Symbiotes." Lena explained casually. "Once we manage tame their parasitic nature, LuthorCorp intends to distribute them to medical centers across the eastern shoreline. Symbiotes hold unique properties that can effectively cure terminal diseases such as cancer and HIV. I'm sure you understand the benefits it could provide if we learned how use them properly – we could even help poor Ms. Dearden."

Outside the office, Artemis listened intently. She wasn't going to be buddy-buddy with Luthor anytime soon, but the possibility of a cure for her protégé was almost too tempting. Back inside the room, Batman was going through the last of Luthor's files until he came to a dead end. Based on the Dark Knight's frustrating silence, it looked like he had managed to come up with nothing that would incriminate the blond businesswoman – she managed to outsmart them again.

"Well, looks like your off the hook this time Luthor." Superman said, speaking for the both of them. "But you're going to slip up one of these days and when you do, the Justice League will be there to take you down."

"Well, could you do it next week?" Lena said nonchalantly, marching over to the bar to replenish her drink. "I have a ton of meetings this week, then I have to attend a special service in Keystone, and then I be spending the weekend relaxing after a long day of owning a multimillion dollar company. I believe you gentlemen know the way out."

The Bat shot one of his classic glares before turning heel with a flourish of his cape – Lena actually thought the addition was rather cool. As the four members of the Justice League vacated themselves out of her company, the blond businesswoman finally found the time to relax in her comfy chair and read her book.

"Why did you tell them everything, Ms. Luthor?" Indigo questioned interestingly; Lena groaned in irritation. "Won't they be suspicious if they know you've been working with Dr. Rice?"

"As Thomas Carlyle once said: 'Speech is silver, but silence is gold'." Lena recited with a lofty smile. "It's too bad gold isn't worth that much in this day and age. If I hadn't told Batman everything, he would have only grown more suspicious of me and would attempt to infiltrate my personal files. If he had done that, he would have found some things there would be better off secret. No, by giving him that information, he has no reason to mistrust me and he'll believe that Dr. Rice was merely passing blame onto the likely suspect."

"So you were essentially hiding out in the open." Indigo summarized.

"Exactly." Lena smirked.

* * *

><p>Talon felt like…crap.<p>

It was night time and the mentors had already come back from…wherever it was they. After everyone had went home with their protégés, Talon was left on the couch to lick her proverbial wounds – her physical wounds had already healed earlier. She was not expecting Judomaster to be so skilled in combat, let alone to be able to kick the mutant clone left and right. It was just like Talon's battle with Batgirl – she couldn't touch the bitch. But the main difference was that Judomaster used all five of her senses instead of just a select few; something she noticed after the Japanese woman had soundly defeated the Dark Knight's sidekick. It was times like this that she regretted not going through with the final adamantium bonding process – an unbreakable skeleton sure would come in handy. At that time, Poison Ivy had returned from the kitchenette in the corner of the room with a pack of ice in hand.

"There ya go…" Poison Ivy said soothingly as she gently settled the ice over the mutant's left eye. "You know, I thought being Wolverine's clone meant you were supposed to heal from injuries."

"Just because my body heals doesn't mean the pain goes away." Talon sighed against the cold package. "First Batgirl and now Judomaster – it like everybody can kick my ass these days."

"If it makes you feel better…" Poison Ivy smiled kindly. "Wolverine fought Judomaster during his stay in Japan and he got his butt handed to him."

"That does make me feel a little better." Talon smirked. "I wonder if she can teach me how to do that?"

"Maybe." Poison Ivy laughed. As the green-skinned woman was tidying up the mess on the table left y Mia and Irey, she found something that seemed out of place. It was the note Batgirl had left behind. "What's this?"

"That?" Talon repeated. "That's just some note Dr. Kinney wanted me to have. Batgirl's been trying to push it on me all day, but I don't want anything to do with that heartless woman."

"But isn't she your mother?" Poison Ivy asked sadly. "She must have spent a lot of time and care to make sure you have this. Aren't you even a little curious about she wanted to say to you?" Talon remained silent; Ivy sighed in a disappointing fashion. "You know, I was born into a wealthy family, but my parents were always emotionally distant from me. They were always busy with work and I spent all my time with a nanny that only cared about me because she was paid to do it. I guess that's why I took to plants. They would always listen to my problems and never judge me because I was different – they were the only friends I had really." She picked up the note, holding it out for the mutant to take. "A lot of people aren't fortunate enough to have a parent that cares enough to talk to their child. I'm actually jealous of you."

The mutant teenager glanced at the woman from the corner of her eye, noting the sincerity in her voice and eyes. Batgirl was right; she did seem trustworthy. Though she was still angry from all the years of experimentations, Dr. Kinney did take the time to write to her – Dr. Rice and Kimura would have rather shot a bullet between her eyes. Taking one last look into Pamela's pleading eyes, Talon set down the ice pack and accepted the message. It was a lot heavier than she expected – it felt like there was something wrapped inside.

Talon opened the paper and was surprised to find a polished locket made from what looked like real gold; it must have cost a lot of money to buy something like this. Curiosity getting the better of her, Talon opened the locket and found a picture of…her? More specifically, a picture of a seven year-old Talon sitting on her bed with Dr. Kinney reading her a chapter from "The Art of War". Now she remembered: Dr. Kinney would show up into her room after hours and read Talon a passage before she fell asleep. That was the few pleasant memories she had of the facility.

Closing the locket in her hand, Talon looked at the final message left behind by the doctor, surprised by the contents it contained.

_**Dear Laura – I always wanted to name you Laura.**_

"_**Please forgive me. Even as I write the words, they ring so hollow. My mistakes… No, my choices… They cannot be undone, much less forgiven. How all this came to pass… and the truth about Weapon X. Had it ended there, would I be less a monster? Or more? Would I even know the difference? Of course I don't have to tell you about monsters. Your life is defined by monsters. Replicating the mutant genome proved difficult but rebuilding Weapon X seemed all but impossible. For every enzyme, for every codon, for every sequence we repaired, or even built back from near nothingness, we seemed to be missing a million more. But I felt alive, the work, the failure, the challenge. It was like a brilliant light, shining inside of me. I felt like my life had a purpose. What a fool I was. I was defiant in the face of my failures. I was determined to succeed out of spite. Weeks passed. I was working on two projects, living two lives. I was used to that. I had kept secrets before. It seems so incredible to me now, that in all that time, given everything that I knew what I was doing and what the end result would bear I didn't give it a second thought. I told myself that you weren't real. I told myself that this was science not life. I was creating a weapon, not a child. I was wrong. When I was little I always believed that everything that happened to me - I deserved it. That we all get what we deserve. Maybe I was right. No longer the experimenter, I was now part of the experiment. A vessel to be poked and prodded. To be violated. They certainly didn't care about me...not with a weapon to train. A team of physicians, psychologists, nutritionists, and military strategists now ran my life. They watched my every move, but they didn't see everything. I asked for forgiveness before. Now I'm telling you don't forgive me. Don't forgive any of us for what we did. Ever. I remember everything...everything we did to you, and you deserve to know why we did these things. Your training was designed to strip you of your humanity. After all, in the eyes of the program, you weren't human, you were a weapon. A weapon I willingly conceived for them. Our orders were to keep you from gaining any sense of self; something they said would compromise our ability to control you. We were never to treat you as a child, only as a weapon, but not everyone followed those orders, for that I'm grateful. Rice was given permission to take whatever steps were necessary to activate your x-gene. He chose radiation poisoning. You nearly died that day. Unfortunately Rice was right. The radiation worked. Now nothing stood in their way, especially me. I only found out later what happened, that your claws were extracted one by one, that he sharpened and then coated them with the indestructible metal, adamantium, outside of our body, it was never supposed to be like that. So much wasn't. I should have known what was coming, not that I could have prevented it, but I would have tried. I'm sorry, so sorry. I wanted to understand why we were doing this. So, he told me. He said: "It's simple. You can't sell anything without advertising." That's what this was all about. The buying and selling of lives for profit. Not saving the world, or taking it over. No, this was about money. A lot of it. You were sold for a million dollars a pound and as you know by now, there were no shortage of buyers. Rice was right. I didn't matter. Not to them. Not to you. Not to anyone. All I could do is watch. While you were forced to kill and kill, and kill, and kill. For three years, you murdered without failure. Every target they marked, you killed. Every time limit they set, you beat. Every rendezvous point they plotted, you reached. They made you a killer. They were the ones using you. But now I see I was just like them. They say in life that we are judged by the choices we make, they are what define us, and I chose to bring you in to this world. I chose to stay in the program even after they stripped you of your humanity and molded you in to a weapon. I'm responsible for everything that has happened, for all the pain all the death for everything you have suffered, because I had a choice when you had none. And I chose to do nothing. I always assumed it was Rice that cut you. He hurt you so many times in the past...he almost killed you twice. I never wanted to believe it was you. The damage I've done...can I ever forgive myself? You couldn't stop what Rice made you do...but somehow you managed to stay human...you showed me we've failed...you are not a weapon, you are a child. Always remember you are not to blame. You did not pick this life. We...I forced it upon you. The blood you have spilled is on my hand, not yours and please understand why I must ask you to kill one last time. Because tonight what you do is right. Tonight, what you serve is justice. Tonight, you take back the life we stole from you. I never wanted a family. My father stripped me of that desire. He took my childhood, my innocence, my life. And then I took yours. I became what I hated and feared most and you became my victim. But then you showed me hope. You showed me that we can chose to be something other than what we are forced to be that we can be something better than we believe we are. And, in that moment, you saved my life; all that matters to me now is that I save yours. I wish we could just run away without any more bloodshed. But if you don't stop them they will never stop. They will do it again. They've already started. After tonight, we'll just keep moving and never look back. We'll start a new life, have a future, be a family. I'm sorry I waited so long to tell you these things. There is so much more I want to tell you, and I will but one thing that you must always remember no matter what has happened and no matter what may come, you are a child, not a weapon. You are my child. You are my daughter, and I love you. I will always love you, Laura.**_

_**Your mother, Sarah.**_

For some reason, her chest tightened and her cheeks felt wet, but she wasn't sad. No, she was actually…happy. These words – her mother's words – spoke more in depth than anything before. Dr. Kinney never though she was a weapons. And now as she recalls all the little moments, the gentle touches, the soft whispers, Talon realized that it was her way of showing that she loved her…her daughter. And though Dr. Kinney had paid the ultimate price, she understood that he mother perished happily knowing that her daughter would be free of this curse. When Talon came to her senses and realized that Pamela was still in the room, she hurriedly wiped the salty drops from her eyes.

"You see, your mother did care about you." Poison Ivy said with kindness. I'm happy for you, Talon."

"Laura." Talon said suddenly, surprising the plant woman. "My name…it's Laura Kinney."

"That's a lovely name." Poison Ivy smiled. "Sensing that Laura wished to be alone, the green-skinned nanny start walking away, shutting off the lights as she exited the room. "Good night, Laura."

"Good night, Pam." Laura answered softly.

With one last smile, Poison Ivy closed the door behind her. Now Laura was alone in the longue room…..no, she wasn't alone. Looking down at the locket her mother had given her, Laura could feel all the love and kindness Dr. Kinney had given her over the years that she was too angry to realize. As Laura made herself comfortable on the couch, she chose to attach the locket to her chocker, keeping the golden memento over her heart.

She wasn't cold that night.

* * *

><p><strong>Please, read and review – just one would be nice.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong><span>Birds of Prey Profile<span>**

**Name:** Talon  
><strong>Real Name: <strong>Laura Kinney/X-23  
><strong>Aliases: <strong>Laura X, Laura Logan, Yoda of Killers  
><strong>Designation: <strong>B04  
><strong>Age: <strong>14  
><strong>Relatives: <strong>Wolverine (Father), Sarah Kinney (Mother), Daken (Half-Brother), Wild Thing (Half-Sister), Amiko Kobayashi (Foster Sister)  
><strong>MentorPartner(s): **Wolverine  
><strong>Affiliation(s): <strong>Weapon Plus (Formerly), Birds of Prey  
><strong>Occupation: <strong>Assassin (Formerly)  
><strong>PowersAbilities:  
><strong>- Regenerative Healing Factor  
>- Adamantium Claws<br>- Master Assassin Training  
>- Expert Tracker<br>- Multilingual  
><strong>Notes:<br>- **Tendency to have fits of rage  
>- A Lacking sense of trust<br>- Long-time cutter  
>- Incomplete adamantium skeleton<p>

* * *

><p><strong>(1) <strong>Based on X-23's appearance in MvC3  
><strong>(2) <strong>Based on Superboy's second costume  
><strong>(3) <strong>Based on Terry's Batsuit in Justice League Beyond #6  
><strong>(4) <strong>Based on her DCnU appearance.


	8. Night Shift

**Birds of Prey**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own DC, Marvel, or any other characters outside of OCs.

**Note:** To expand towards the rest of the Earth-52 universe, I have chosen to include chapters featuring the Justice League and Avengers as the main characters. If there is enough support in the future, the story could be expanded towards the origins of the two groups and the history that led up to this point. So if you want to see more Justice League and Avengers in the future, please review and continue supporting the effort.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Justice League: Night Shift<span>**

_**Neo Gotham City – January 6, 21:16 EDT**_

The East End – An underdeveloped part of Gotham laden with poverty, crime, prostitution, and the circulation of illegal drugs. Despite all the things that had been done to further advance Gotham City into the refurbished Neo Gotham City; the East End was the only thing that hadn't changed in over eighty years. This was due in large part of Bruce Wayne's attempt to preserve the infamous Crime Alley to remind the city of Gotham what it had lost and – unknown to its inhabitants – where the legacy of the Batman began. But by leaving the East End untouched for some many decades, it had become the central location for Gotham's lowest and deadliest criminals, who had long ago divided territory within the area. One of the territories being the Gotham Docks, where a large gathering was taking place.

Men and woman of Gotham's underground poured into Warehouse 22 in droves, quickly finding a seat on the many stacked benches around the spacious building. In the center of the warehouse was a mahogany table facing a crude statue of Lady Justice – one side painted black the other white – holding two scales in both hands. Tied down to a chair behind the table by what seemed to be an inescapable knot was a woman garbed in a pitch-black bodysuit equipped with armored plating to protect her arms and legs, a pair of electric wristbands, and compartments strapped to her thighs to store her gear. Her face was masked by a bulking helmet that ended at two points on top and had two narrow ruby-red lenses to see through. **(Andrea Black – Catwoman)**

Try as she might, the Cat couldn't maneuver around enough to free herself – they wanted to make sure she didn't go anywhere. Catwoman finally ended her attempts when everyone had taken their seats and the warehouse doors slammed shut, drowning the building in intimidating silence. All eyes were now at the base of the crude statue to the woman whose back was turned to the audience, flipping a silver dollar consistently in her hand.

"I've worked so hard to make it this far." The woman said in a low key. "All my struggles, my pain, my suffering – the empire I had built up from the depths of this suburban rat hole." Sighed heavily. "But there is always someone trying to stop us."

"_**Not anymore!**_" The same woman proclaimed with a deeper, gravelly voice. "_**When we kill the bitch, Neo Gotham will understand who's in charge! We're going to be calling the shots from now on!**_"

"We should be fair though." The woman returned to her normal voice. "We have a moral obligation to under hold justice in this lawless city."

"_**Morals? Justice?**_" The woman spoke in her dark tone. "_**We will decide what real justice is after tonight!**_

The woman finally turned around to face her audience, stepping into the light for all to see. She seemed like a normal woman, but had taken efforts to cover herself in body paint – the right side white and the left side black – and had shoulder-length hair that was also divided, leaving the right half emerald-green and the other half fiery-red. Her clothing of choice was tailcoat with a high collar that barely covered her breasts and left her midriff exposed, a pair of business pants kept in place by a leather belt, and a pair of high-heeled shoes. In accordance to her personal style, her clothing was colorized as followed: the left side white with the right half black. **(Duela Dent – Two-Face)**

"Court is now in session!" Two-Face yelled, earning a raving applause from the audience. "**The good people of Neo Gotham City versus…**"

"The good people?" Catwoman remarked sarcastically, earning a one-sided glare from the judge. "Who are you trying to fool with this mockery of a trial? If you think you're gonna take me out with this ridiculous kangaroo court, you're even more insane than usual."

"Oh, you're not the defendant." Two-Face proclaimed casually, leaning closer to the cat burglar. "**You're the attorney.**" "As I was saying: the good people of Neo Gotham City versus Kitrina Falcone."

"What?" Catwoman exclaimed fretfully.

Just as her named was called, two of the schizophrenic woman's henchmen cared carried a young girl – who was kicking and flailing defiantly – to the second chair at the wooden table. She was possibly only a couple years older than the Flash's sidekick with shoulder-length light-auburn hair and a particularly nasty bite, which she used on one of the goons arm. She was dressed in a stone-grey shirt with black paw prints, a pair of faded jeans, and pair of pitch-black combat boots – hey, a girl needed to look tough in this city. After a lot of fighting and clawing from the scrappy girl, Kitrina was finally restrained to her seat, hissing as the ropes burned against her skin. Underneath her mask, Catwoman was shooting a dangerous glare in Two-Face's direction.

"Hey, Andrea, here's a silly question?" Kitrina said slowly before exploding. "What the (bleep) am I doing here?"

"First off, where did you hear that word?" Catwoman questioned sternly. "You weren't supposed to learn that until you were twelve. And second, I have no idea. But…I have a feeling we're going to find out soon enough."

"Kitrina Falcone…" Two-Face said solemnly, pacing back and forth with her coin flipping in her hand. "Daughter of Alberto "Holiday" Falcone, granddaughter of Carmine "The Roman" Falcone…" "**And a real pain in the ass!**" The crowd jeered at the pre-teen gangster, who was fruitlessly struggling in her seat. "Since the time of our fathers…" "**Meaning OUR fathers…**" "The Falcone Crime Family held more than half of Neo Gotham under their control…" "**Something that should be rightfully ours…**" "And now, after the…tragic deaths of many of its prestigious members…" "**That leaves the little kitten the sole heir of the Crime Family.**"

"Did you know about this?" Kitrina questioned; the black cat remained diligently silent. "So not cool! I could be running the mob now!"

"As the last child of the Falcone Family, she has full control of their territory..." Two-Face continued undisturbed. "**And bumping her off makes it open season on their turf!**" The crowd roared strongly."So here's my question to you, good people of the jury: should we let her off with a warning…?" Her hand swiftly dived into her coat pocket, aiming an automatic pistol between Kitrina's eyes. "**Or should we just kill the bitch?**"

"Objection!" Catwoman shouted angrily; Two-Face retaliated by backhanding her with her pistol.

"Overruled." Two-Face replied calmly.

"If you harm even one hair on her head…" Catwoman growled dangerously. "I really will make you two-faced."

"Let's see what the coin has to say." Two-Face remarked. The schizophrenic woman brought to attention the silver dollar she always carried – one side normal, one side heavily scarred. Flipping the coin into the air, the mock courtroom watched in silence as the currency glided above their heads before slapping into the palm of its owner's hand. Two-Face stayed for a good minute until… "This court finds the defendant…" **"Guilty!**"

The warehouse exploded into cheers. Killing off the last Falcone meant that Two-Face was one step closer to creating an empire greater than that belonging to Roman "Black Mask" Sionis. And everyone under her would have their own share of the spoils…until she flipped the coin and bumped you off. But still, a life without risks wasn't one worth living. With the barrel pressed firmly against the girl's forehead, Two-Face steadily pulled back the trigger, wanting to savor the sense of helplessness the cat was feeling. But her taste for dramatics ultimately proved to be the downfall of Duela Dent. From high in the rafters, a black and red object twirled from out of the darkness and curved around to snap against Two-Face's wrist. A quick murmur of confusion passed over the makeshift courtroom. Clenching her injury, Two-Face looked down next to her discard weapon and found – to her dismay – the signature tool of Neo Gotham's hero.

"The defense would like to call its first witness." Duela fell back on her behind as the newly Caped Crusader dropped from the shadows of the rafters, landing firmly on the mahogany table. "Would the Batman please take the stand?"

"Bat**man!**" Two-Face screamed.

Did anyone ever tell you that you have perfect timing?" Catwoman sounded relieved. "Ooh, sporting a new costume, I see. Not bad, not bad – very menacing and mysterious, but don't you know capes are so 2012?"

"I've been getting that a lot." Batman smirked. "I don't care what you say; the cape's cool.

"What are you idiots standing around for?" Two-Face screamed, finally pulling herself to her feet. "**Kill him!**"

There was a hint of uncertainty present in the audience – many of them had already fought against the Batman and typically took a quick trip to Gotham Mercy General before on their way to Blackgate. Many of the more sensible henchmen ran away with their tails between their legs, but the unfortunate few that stayed jumped down from the benches at full force. The Dark Knight did a quick mental count. Forty-two street thugs armed with miscellaneous items versus one man in a cape and cowl didn't really seem fair – perhaps he should fight with his eyes closed.

From either side, two of Two-Face's goons came running with metal pipes broken off from the walls. The Caped Crusader effortlessly blocked the blunt objects with his forearms, bending them slightly, and wrapped his hands around to relieve them of their weapons. With a quick spin of his cape, the Dark Knight managed to confuse the goons until he found the opportunity to nail them in the head with their own weapons. Around the same time, one of the few female stepped softly behind the bat with a pocket knife in hand and stabbed between the hero's shoulder blades. But the Dark Knight had noticed her presence a while back and pulled the one of the pipes behind his back to directing the small razorblade. While the woman stumbled, Batman quickly turned around and bashed her across the face twice with the pipes before kicking her abdomen, sending her tumbling to the wall. Terry was starting to feel like Nightwing, but felt that he should stick to what he did best and discarded the pipes.

One of the hulking thugs tried to kick the Dark Knight, but the bat easily caught the goon's ankle before driving his boot in the man's crotch, effectively disabling him for the rest of the night. If there was one thing that Wayne taught him, it was to be as brutal as possible no matter how much of a low blow it is. Batman had just finished knocking out a minion by popping his shoulder when he heard three clicking sounds ringing one after another. The bat turned slowly – it was astonishing that he had failed to notice the cache of ammunition in the corner. Wayne was going to kill him if these guys didn't. Thankfully, the dumbbells were still loading their weapons, which provided Batman with the opportunity to open one of the compartments of his belt. A cloud of thick, grey smoke was released into the air and the minions were thrown into a coughing fit; Batman's exo-suit had a built-in filter. Quickly dashing through the haze, Batman jumped and slammed his heels into the stomach of one of the gunners, using him as a kick off point to flip over the other two and slam his fists over their heads.

There was no denying it – the bat was too good. So with the intention of escaping bodily harm, Duela Dent tried crawling away like a toddler in the middle of all the confusion. She had just escape the smokescreen before her vision was clouded by a pair of black boots. Almost hesitantly, Two-Face looked up, staring into steely gaze of Catwoman.

"Going somewhere, Dent?" Catwoman said playfully with her hands on her hips.

"How did you…?" Two-Face murmured.

"Kitrina's good with knots." Catwoman replied knowingly, pointing to the child holding the broken ropes like a trophy.

This wasn't going at all like she planned. For the first time since she could remember, Two-Face immediately disregarded the coin toss and jabbed her hand into her other pocket to pull out her second pistol – she always carried a pair. But before she could pull the trigger, her arms were pulled behind her back and forced to release her gun. Looking around, she came to the sudden realization there was not one, not two, not three, but nine Catwoman circling the suddenly defenseless crime lord. She forgot that this version of the cat thief was a metahuman as opposed to her normal predecessor.

"Bad girl…" Catwoman purred triumphantly, kicking the pistol to the corner. "If you can't play nicely, you'll get your toys taken away. Girls, think she needs to be put in time out for a little while."

"Hey, hey, wait a minute!" Two-Face stammered fretfully as the army of cats lifted her into the air. "**What the hell are doing?**" "You better put us down right now!" "**We'll kill you for this, bitch!**"

The dark suited cat burglar clapped her hands for a job well done – she had been meaning to pay Dent back after ripping her off on that heist a few years back. But while her replicas were stringing the schizophrenic woman up to the crude statue by her ankles, the black cat did show some slightly worried for the Dark Knight's health. These concerns proved to be baseless as the smokescreen settled and the Caped Crusader emerged unharmed. Though the same couldn't be said about the piles of wounded henchmen moaning pathetically on the floor.

"You are full of surprises, you know that?" Catwoman said teasingly.

"I figured you could use my help." Batman commented.

"You're right." Catwoman said, taking a sudden interest in her hand. "I think I broke a nail back there."

"Cute." Batman remarked blandly. Two-Face was screaming something about cats and a piñata, but was ignored. "I need you to come with me, Andrea. It's important."

"So forward." Catwoman said in mock amazement. "Don't you have a fiancé? You know: crawls walls, shoots webs, and wears gaudy spandex?" The Dark Knight narrowed his eyes dangerously, meaning she should stop their playful banter before someone got hurt – mostly her. "All right, all right, let me just drop Kitrina off at our flat and we can talk there. And…what about Ms. Split-Personality?"

"I already called Detective Yin before I arrived." Batman informed, calling up his holographic computer as proof. "She'll be here in about ten minutes and she says it would be preferable if we were gone. Well, mostly you being a cat burglar and all."

"I'm flattered." Catwoman snickered, picking up Kitrina before following the bat into the darkness of the night.

* * *

><p>On the opposite area of the East End district, the crime rate in the streets was lower than anywhere else in the region, which was contributed to two reasons. The first was because it borderlines with the nicer areas of Neo Gotham City, meaning police were more active. The second reason was because the infamous Catwoman regularly patrolled the rooftops in the area and would kick the crap out of anyone that would so much throw litter on the streets. And in the heart of this section was the Nine Lives Longue – not as glamorous as the Iceberg Lounge, but it was a good place to find cheap drinks and risk flirting with the sexy barkeeper, Andrea Black. One could only imagine how customers would react if they knew the one serving them was the one kicking their asses.<p>

Andrea had bought the Nine Lives Longue when she was eighteen when she finally got – stole – the money needed to leave her father and strike it on her own. She typically lived alone in the flat above the tavern until a year ago when she took in Kitrina after saving her from her abusive uncle. Speaking of whom, the little gangster was settling herself into bed as Andrea made sure her charge was comfortable for the night. Andrea had removed her helmet when coming home; she could easily be mistaken for Cassandra's older sister due to the similarities in their appearance.

"I don't know what you were thinking going out in the middle of the night." Andrea scolded. "It's no wonder Two-Face's goons managed to catch you. I'm just amazed they hadn't thought about snapping your little neck if their boss didn't say so."

"Hey, I can take care of myself." Kitrina huffed indignantly. "I used that move you showed me and took six of them down before they caught me." She looked away when her caretaker shot her a knowing look. "Fine, it was only four. But I still kicked their asses!"

"And I'm proud of you." Andrea claimed, ruffling the girl's hair. "But next time, know your limits." With that being said, the heroic cat burglar crossed the room and turned out the lights. "Night, kid."

The preteen didn't return the gesture and turned her back to the Catwoman, obviously pouting over her treatment. Though she tried to act tough, she was too young and too cute to be taken seriously. The black cat closed the door behind her and made her way downstairs to her place of business; she could use a good hangover after the night she had. Unfortunately, she forgot that she was serving a tall, dark, and dangerous customer tonight, who was hanging out at the counter with her helmet. But she was grateful that she had the pleasure of waiting on this Batman instead of the old timer – at least he knew how to have a good time.

"So, what can I get ya, sir?" Andrea said as she walked around the counter, playing the role of the lovable bartender. "Whisky, gin, tequila, Bloody Mary, Screwdriver. Might I recommend the Agent Orange – the guys with the glowing rings and orange jumpsuits really love that one."

"I'm not here for a social visit." Batman ended sternly; so much for a good time. "I need your help, Andrea. More specifically, I need Catwoman's help.

"The mighty and powerful Batman needs help from a common thief?" Andrea remarked teasingly, deciding to mix herself a drink if the bat wouldn't join. "I never thought I'd see the day."

"We both know you're no common thief." Batman stated. "You've pulled off hundreds of high-profile robberies in twenty states before you were even eighteen and never once have you been caught – Not even with Superman and the Flash on your tail. Even Salina Kyle and Felicia Hardy have that kind of track record. I need your thieving expertise of yours for a mission."

"You want me to break help you steal something?" Andrea shot a confused expression; the Dark Knight just grimace. "It's tempting…but what's in it for me?"

"I saved your life twice – both with Two-Face and with Hush." Batman answered knowingly. "And if I didn't pull a few strings, you would have never gained custody of Kitrina and Wayne wouldn't be giving you the funds to take care of her. You owe me, Andrea. And you back out now; I could take everything away with just a word – Kitrina and all."

"Are you blackmailing me?" Andrea sneered dangerously. While the Dark Knight remained unaffected by her heated glare, the black cat suddenly smirked and chuckled slightly. "I didn't think you had it in ya, bats. I almost regret letting you get away. Now…" She picked up her helmet, locking it tightly with the rest of her suit. "What's the job you have in mind?"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Metropolis – January 7, 0:32 EDT<strong>_

Metropolis at night was radically different from the streets of Neo Gotham: the city was relatively quiet, the atmosphere wasn't depressing, and the air was breathable. If it wasn't for the fact that Gotham was his hometown and the blue Boy Scout flying around, Terry would seriously consider moving here. But right now, he needed to focus on his objective. The bat and the Cat were hovering around the parameter of the LuthorCorp building in the Batmobile, which had been converted for stealth mode for the operation. He really needed to thank Wayne for the upgrades.

While the Dark Knight kept his eyes focused on the uh…"road", so to speak, Catwoman was fiddling with the onboard computer for information on the LuthorCorp building. Thanks to some assistance from Oracle, the dynamic duo was able to attain as much intel on the security measures without alerting living computer, Indigo.

"Hmm…" Catwoman hummed thoughtfully, flipping to the next page. "Standard security cameras at every hallway, three hundred plus security guards on duty, inferred and ultraviolet sensors on the rooftops, each window is electronically locked and fitted with shock function to prevent high-rise entrances, and every electronic in the building has a different password that changes every five minutes. I gotta hand it to Luthor – she doesn't slack off when it comes to security. The place is locked up tighter than Croc's jaw."

"You can see why I've had so much trouble getting in." Batman said, slowly settling the Batmobile on a nearby rooftop. The bat and the cat jumped out and the Dark Knight activated the stealth function once more – he did need someone to jack his car…again. "So what's the plan? Try to bypass the security on the roof or maybe plow out way underground."

"You're thinking too complex." Catwoman purred. "We're just gonna walk in through the front door."

* * *

><p>It was another boring night at LuthorCorp – nothing exciting ever happened at Metropolis at night. The villains here weren't like the freak at Neo Gotham that liked using the shadows and stuff. For this reason, it was easy the security guard to lean back into his chair, kick his feet up on the desk, and catch up on the news with the Daily Planet. He had just finished reading the article on Superman and Nightwing defeating the Superman Revenge Squad when suddenly, the front doors slammed open and snapped the guard's attention up. He found himself staring at a woman with lengthy-raven hair wearing one of LuthorCorp security uniforms – he sighed exasperatedly.<p>

"Gee, Janet, do you have to be so loud." The guard groaned. "Ya nearly gave me a heart attack."

"At least we'd have something to do." The guard named Janet moaned, leaning against the front desk. "The night shift is so boring. I wish something exciting would happen for once.

Ask and ye shall receive. While the two guards were locked in idle chat, neither of them had noticed the black cat that had entered the building unnoticed and was crawling along the ceiling like a Spider. Catwoman kept herself flat against the surface of the ceiling and stopped moving briefly when the security camera was aimed in her direction. It was touch and go for a while, but the cat burglar managed to get close to the camera and open the paneling on the side. The cat aimed her wristband at the I/O socket, connecting the two together by a thin cable. Catwoman monitored her wristband until it signaled her with a tiny red flash – mission accomplished.

Now that the cameras were taken care off, there was still the matter of the security…not a problem. The two were so relaxed into the conversation that neither of them had noticed the black cat crawling overhead until it was too late. Catwoman dropped down from the ceiling and grabbed them by their heads – the man with her hands and the woman with her feet – before slamming them together. The two dropped like dead weights and probably won't remember what happened when the wake up. Now that everything was taken care of, the cat burglar casually walked over to the door and let the brooding Dark Knight in.

"I take it you took care of everything." Batman said, referring to the unconscious security.

"We made it inside the building and all video feed is now on a continuous loop." Catwoman informed, holding out her wristband to bring up her own holographic computer. "We'll be able to move without being caught by camera footage. But we still have to worry about roaming security and there's still the problem with the changing password."

"Already taken care of." Batman stated, bringing out his computer once more. "I had Oracle hack into the LuthorCorp mainframe through your exo-suit and she managed to build a multi-frequency cryptographic sequencer that adapts to every variable in Luthor's encryption key. No matter what the password is, I hack it."

"Have you ever considered changing careers?" Catwoman asked teasingly; she was once again on the receiving end of the famous Bat-Glare. "Can't blame a girl for asking. But if this whole superhero thing doesn't work out, I know this great place when they have a vault full of rare Peruvian diamonds." She pressed a few sequences in her computer, bringing up a small-scale map of the LuthorCorp building. "What you are looking for is on the forty-eighth floor in Luthor's private databank. All the information that isn't in the LuthorCorp mainframe should be there."

"And that where we'll get our answers." Batman said, running past with a flourish of his cape. "C'mon."

Using Oracle's handy cryptographic sequencer, Batman managed to gain full access of the elevator to take them to the forty-eighth floor – it was more convenient than the stairs.

* * *

><p>But as they leisurely made their way up the building, they were unaware of how their actions reflected in the security room. The head of security was eying the monitors with an expert eye that came from years of experience. All the images looked the same and showed nothing suspicious, but the times were something to be concerned of. While most guards never notice it, the time on the bottom right corner of the video kept repeating over and over – someone was trying to throw him for a loop. Nice try, but not great. A chorus of squelching noises could be heard coming from the room, but if anyone dared to look inside, they would find that the head of security had vanished without a trace.<p>

* * *

><p>Though it was heavily fortified from the outside, the security wasn't all that impressive on the inside once they took out the security cameras. There were the few four guards the dynamic duo met when exiting the elevator, but that was handled with a quick jab to the jaw before stuffing them into a nearby janitor closet, which was rather weird since LuthorCorp didn't have a janitor. And finally, after using the cryptographic sequencer given by Oracle, the bat and cat entered the most secure facility in the building: Lena Luthor's personal computer database.<p>

The room was really quite spacious than expected – stretching thirty feet in height, length, and width – with at least twenty rows of technologically advanced supercomputers. Most of them didn't even look like they were built on Earth, which is probably true considering Lena's relationship with the infamous Brainiac. As they walked through the range of workstations, Batman's curious nature permitted him to peek at one of the nearby monitors. He didn't see anything too sketchy: due dates, financial income, business revenue, and what appeared to be an article from her private diary. The Dark Knight walked away – even he knew it was a bad idea to read another girl's diary and Spider-Girl still hasn't forgiven him of that little incident.

It was Catwoman who noticed that all the mainframes were connected by a web of neon-green circuits interwoven on the floor, slowly tangling together towards the center of the room. All the circuits led to a wide cylinder that connected to the floor and the ceiling, seemingly connecting every electrical device in LuthorCorp. Batman grimaced when he learned that circuits were all connected by an enlarged version of Brainiac's symbol – Lena seems to hold in high regards.

"Looks like this kitten's got the cream." Catwoman purred, bring the bat's attention to the only keyboard in the room. "Well, Bats, I say my work here is done. So get whatever the hell you came for so we can get out of here." She refocused her attention to the Brainiac symbol. "This place is really starting to creep me out."

Don't go turning tail just yet, Black." Batman warned, kneeling towards the underside of the panel. The Dark Knight withdrew a hidden wire from the wrist of his Batsuit, connecting it to the I/O circuit hidden at the bottom. Instantly, the cryptographic sequencer went to work decoding Lena's elusive password. "Lena's firewalls are a bit stronger than the rest of the building, so it will take some time. In the meantime, I need you to keep an eye out for anyone…"

"Freeze!"

"You were saying?" Catwoman grumbled in annoyance.

They could hear the guard's weapon clicking into place – he wasn't gonna waste time with idle threats. Though they were highly trained to dodge a speeding bullet, they didn't want to run the risk of damaging the computer and losing the data. Or worse, Bruce would take the damages out of his paycheck. Temporarily disconnecting the computer, the bat and cat duo raised their hands slowly and turned around to face the guard. He was a tall, dark-skinned man with a bald head and eyes that showed years of experience. The expression of surprise was plain on all of them as everyone in the room recognized each other.

"Ethan Bennett?" Batman and Catwoman said shockingly.

"Batman? Catwoman?" Ethan sounded surprised, lowering his gun slightly. "What are you two doing here? Scratched that – what the hell are you doing here **together**? A hero and a thief just doesn't seem right."

"We could be asking you the same thing, Bennett." Catwoman retorted. "Last time we say you, bats turned you into an ice sculpture and handed you a one way ticket to Arkham Asylum."

"I got early parole for good behavior." Ethan informed. "I was nominated for a reform program called the Suicide Squad that gives super criminals like me a chance to make up for all the crimes we committed. Ms. Luthor gave a job as head of security because of my background and because of my…special talents."

"Listen, Bennett, it's not what you think." Batman said urgently. "We know Luthor is up to something, but we can't figure out what it is until we look through her files. She may look like a good person, but I know she's been behind a lot of underhanded dealings. If I can just look through computer, I can get my proof."

"Sorry, Batman." Ethan apologized honestly. "I'm grateful for what you tried to do for me in the past, but I've got a job to do. Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way."

If there was one thing he liked and hated about Ethan Bennett, it was his dedication to getting the job done right. And as much as he hated fighting a former upstanding citizen, what he needed from that computer was more important than past friendships. With his hands still where Bennett could see them, Batman pulled a batarang from the hidden storage at his first and flung the projectile before Bennett realized what happened. The Batarang snapped Bennett's gun in two and Catwoman, never missing an opportunity to claw someone, rushed forward and slashed across the man's face. Batman could have told her to stop – that attacking him directly was pointless – but she was never one to listen.

The black cat's claws through Bennett's face like a warm knife to butter, never once flinching. The former criminal simply stared as the cat burglar cautiously took a step back while the tears in Bennett's appearance merely molded themselves back together. Seeing as how his only weapon was broken and they weren't going to back down, Ethan thought that he might be at liberty to use his…special talents. After all, Ms. Luthor did say by any means necessary. Knowing that he wouldn't be judged by his actions, Bennett focused himself and allowed his natural chemistry go to work. His skin morphed into a pale-gray color and his body warped into a misshapen mess: his feet splattered on the ground, webs of gray connecting his body parts, and a twisted feature around his face. The last thing to take for was his mossy-green eyes, which were glaring daggers at the Dynamic Duo. **(Ethan Bennett – Clayface)**

"Oh…" Batman started

"Crap…" Catwoman finished.

"I tried to warn you, Batman." Clayface said threateningly; his voice deep and garbled. "You should have listened to me sooner. Now I am going to asked you to leave the building in peace…" The clay creature displayed his hands, converting them into needle points. "Or in pieces!"

It was rather pointless in asking since the earthen shapeshifter didn't allow them the chance to answer. He sliced his razor-tipped hands, which Catwoman eloquently backflipped away from and over her caped comrade. Batman, armed with a batarang in each hand, drove forward to meet Clayface head-on and locked against his spiked hands. However, Clayface was more crafty than most of the villains the Dark Knight faced against – second only to Inque. With caped crusader distracted by his hands, the shapeshifter formed a fist in his stomach and blasted Batman in the abdominal region. The bat was thrown back into the central databank, clinging to the computer panel for support.

While Batman tried to regain his composure, the clay criminal pulled up his right hand and formed an enlarged mace with his fist. Clayface pulled back in preparation for a devastating blow when he felt a pair of familiar claws cut deep across his waist, segmenting his upper body from his lower regions. The earthen shapeshifter relocated his face towards the direction behind him, leering at the black-suited feline flashing her claws teasingly. It didn't take much for Clayface to reattach himself to his limps, but the idea that he was humiliated like that didn't suit to well with him. This kinda think never happened when he was a cop…well, not often.

With a deep grunt, the muddy security guard crafted two extra pairs of arms along his sides and stretched them all at once for the black cat. The professional thief cut two of them into ribbons with her claws, but quickly shifted to bobbing and weaving around the murky snakes. Coincidently, the limbs that missed her were transformed into snakes and curved around for a stealth strike towards the back. It was good fortune that Andrea had built her mask with a rearview visual to watch behind her or would never have noticed. The cunning cat expertly backflipped over the mud serpents and gracefully landed on one of the workstations. Clayface glared darkly as he pulled himself together – he was wearing himself too thin.

But while the clay warrior took a moment to collect himself, the cat spotted an opening. She reached into one of her compartments and withdrew what looked like a silver handle – and not the kind you see in that old space movie. Pressing a button on the base, the handle released a lengthy electric current to take the shape of whip; an homage to the Catwomen before her. The black cat with the aim to rival Artemis, Catwoman lashed the electrified whip directly between Clayface's eyes, sending a current through the entirety of his shape. But as opposed to the painful screams she was expecting, the earthen ex-criminal ignored the electrical surge and retaliated by stretch his hand to grab the thief around her waist. The unfortunate barkeeper was pulled face-first into the floor – her tool tossed carelessly to the side.

"I must have fought against the Batman dozen times!" Clayface garbled. Though the cat fruitlessly tried to break free of his grip, the ex-criminal only continued to cover the rest of her in clay. "You think I haven't learned how to break the weakness!"

He had finished coating the thief's limbs in clay and was moving to cover her helmet until a silver pellet dropped from the ceiling and landed in the middle of the pile. Not a second later, a loud _**snap **_was followed by a thin layer of ice suddenly expanding around Catwoman's cage. Fearing the imminent danger, Clayface ripped himself away just before the substance was completely flash frozen. The clay no longer maintaining its firmness, the cat thief shattered the substance thanks to the enhanced strength feature she included in the exo-suit. While the cat kicked back to her feet and cartwheeled to safety, Clayface shifted his form to face the Dark Knight, who was holding a handful of what he need to be freeze capsules.

"But it looks like you haven't learned how to break this weakness." Batman remarked.

"Batman!" Clayface roared.

The Dark Knight tossed the rest of his freeze capsules, but the earthen creature flung miniature balls of clay to meet the weapons in midair, freezing upon impact. Good thing, too, since throwing flash freezing technology in a room filled with computers might not have been the best idea. Clayface dissolved his legs into a serpentine tail and reshaped his hands into a pair of battle axes as he slithered for the caped crusader. The Batman ducked twice under the swinging blades and jumped out of reach when the clay guard brought both hands overhead. As he came back down, the Dark Knight pulled back his fist and smashed it into the side of the ex-criminal's chest. As expected, Clayface was undisturbed by the assault and instead found a chance to lock the caped crusader's hand inside his body. With Batman sealed into place, the earthen security guard wrapped him into a bear hug and attempted to smother the hero in his substance.

"What was the point of that?" Clayface frowned, steadily covering the Dark Knight. "You can't hurt me with bare fists."

"I know." Batman smirked confidently.

Clayface looked genuinely confused, but the sharp hissing in his head told the story – game over. From his spider webbing from his chest to his feet to his hands to his head, every inch of his clay-formed body was flash frozen by the hidden freeze pellet Batman had implanted. You would think after falling for the same trick three times, the man would learn by now. The caped crusader pulled back his fist and shattered Clayface's frozen arms to break free just as Catwoman sauntered up to the ice sculpture.

"You really need to chill out, Bennett." Catwoman purred.

Without much of a warning, the black cat performed a spinning kick to the statue's face, breaking his head off from the rest of his body and sending it flying to smash against the wall.

"That was harsh." Batman commented.

"Cats don't like to be cornered." Catwoman remarked.

"What in the name of Colu is going on in here?!" Lena's irritated scream echoed in the room. "I get a call in the middle of the night saying two freaks in tights were breaking into my – oh, it's you two. Never mind."

Batman and Catwoman visibly stiffened as Lena Luthor and her assistant, Indigo, appeared around the corner with exasperated expressions – well, Lena was exasperated and Indigo remained indifferent. Batman at least had the decency not to stare at the fact that Lena had entered the room wearing a pink, see-through nightgown and a pair of pink, fuzzy slippers.

"Might I ask what you two are doing in my private database?" Lena demanded with her hands on her hips. "I thought I told you I gave all information concerning the incident with Weapon X and Dr. Rice."

"Yes, you do have a lot of evidence working for you." Batman coughed awkwardly, doing his best to keep his eyes on Lena's face. Spider-Girl was going to kill him if she ever found out. "But there are still some parts still missing; particularly any involvement with the Weapon Plus Program. Dr. Rice seems insistent that you had a bigger had than what you had claimed."

"Dr. Rice has operated behind my back for years." Lena sighed. "But if you really don't believe me, then take a look for yourself. The password change two minutes ago, so the new one should be 'Kandor' if I recall correctly."

The Dark Knight narrowed his eyes suspiciously – she gave that up way too easily. Nevertheless, Batman reconnected his computer with Lena's personal database and used the password she provided, gaining instant access to her files. There were millions of scattered notes on various subjects, so he filtered the data to only show files containing 'Weapon Plus'. After taking a full million to scan over everything, the closest thing he came to finding was an article on Weapon X and Wolverine – it was taken from an internet information site. This couldn't be right. According to Superman, Luthor should have hundreds of dark secrets stored away. He didn't exactly like the Kryptonian clone, but he knew he wasn't a lying. That could only mean that Lena had outsmarted him…again.

"Your clean." Batman grumbled, disconnecting the cable.

"I hope your satisfied." Lena in a dignified manner. "Now I must ask you to vacate the premises before I call the authorities. You're lucky I don't press charges against you."

"We'll just get out of your way." Catwoman said smoothly, shoving the Dark Knight out the door.

Since there was no point of being stealthy anymore, the bat and the cat decided to take the elevator back down to the lobby. A woman in a business suit working the late shift received quite a shock when the doors opened for a pair of superheroes in black costumes. Despite how awkward everything seemed, Batman nodded politely and Catwoman waved to the woman before stepping inside and pressing the lobby button. The elevator was silent with tension that everyone seemed afraid to break…ok, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration.

"Well, that was a big waste of time." Catwoman commented irritably. "We went through all the trouble and we didn't even find anything."

"Sometimes it's the lack of evidence is all you need." Batman replied seriously. "Luthor may think that she has covered all her bases, but there are some details missing with her story. She may be smart, but she's not a good liar."

"Whatever." Catwoman scoffed.

"Um…" The business woman said uncomfortably, earning stares from the heroes. "I…I like your costume."

"Really?" Catwoman said happily. "Thanks. I made it myself."

Batman groaned – this was gonna be a long trip.

* * *

><p>Back at the computer room, Lena was finishing the last security measurements for her private files. The Dark Knight had managed to break in with minimal resistance – Bruce Wayne clearly had some involvement in this. Meanwhile, her assistant was diligently sweeping the fractured pieces of Clayface into a nice little pile.<p>

"That was too close." Lena mumbled agitatedly under her breath. "If Bennett hadn't called, I wouldn't have been able to transfer the files out of here in time. The Batman is getting more resourceful everyday – clearly Qwardian technology isn't going to cut it. Maybe I should consider acquiring some of that Oan technology. Indigo, remind me to put that on my to-do list."

"Yes, ma'am." Indigo answered, collecting the last of the security guard.

"And thaw Mr. Bennett, would you?" Lena requested. "I'd hate to have to explain to Waller why one of her Suicide Squad agents was turned into an ice sculpture in the middle of the night."

"Yes, ma'am." Indigo obeyed. "Oh, one more thing, Ms. Luthor. Mr. Oroku Saki called a little while ago. He wishes to inform you that the Weapon Plus files have been successfully transferred to the Saki Industries databank and have been secured under Mr. Saki's private access code."

"Good, good, tell him to hold on to those for a little while." Lena commanded, finally feeling a sense of relief. "The Batman is still suspicious, so it wouldn't be safe have to those around in the meantime. Inform Mr. Essex that he will be working directly under Oroku Saki until an unspecified date."

"Yes, ma'am." Indigo answered.

"We are on the verge of a breakthrough not even my father could have foreseen." Lena said with certainty. "And nothing, not even the Justice or the Avengers, can stop the future from coming."

* * *

><p><strong>Please, read and review – just one would be nice.<strong>

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><p><strong><span>Hero Profile<span>  
><strong>**Name: **Catwoman  
><strong>Real Name:<strong> Andrea Black  
><strong>Aliases: <strong>Black Cat, Queen of Thieves, Kitty, Lady Nine Lives  
><strong>Designation: <strong>None  
><strong>Age: <strong>22  
><strong>Relatives:<strong> Multiplex (Father), Kitrina Falcone (Adopted Daughter)  
><strong>MentorPartner(s): **Batman  
><strong>Affiliation(s): <strong>Batman Family **Occupation: **Professional Thief, barkeeper  
><strong>PowersAbilities:  
><strong>- Self-Duplication: limited to nine clones  
>- Olympic-level acrobat and gymnast<br>- Technical expert and inventor  
>- Performance enhancing exo-suit<br>**Notes:  
><strong>- Encyclopedic knowledge of alcohol  
>- Unbreakable record of escaping arrest<br>- Assigned protector of Gotham's East End  
>- Child support provided by Bruce Wayne<p> 


	9. Difference

**Birds of Prey**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own DC, Marvel, or any other characters outside of OCs.

**Note: My One-or-None Policy is still in effect. That means that unless there is at least one review for this and future chapters posted, all stories will come to a definite halt. That includes Naruto: Jinchuriki Chronicles and Fairy Tail: Rekindle**

**Note #2: **I will only be accepting real reviews from now on. No "Awesome story" or one word reviews. I put a lot of thought into my stories and I would like to see some appreciation.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Avengers: Difference<span>**

**New York City – January 10, 15:28 EDT**

New York City had seen better days, but it had also seen worse – that was depressing in and of itself.

The Chitauri, having been defeated twice in the past by the Avengers, had returned to Earth for a third time in their plot for global genocide. And this time…they were winning. The streets were ripped from their very foundation, the skies were scarlet-orange with flames, and once seemingly unbreakable structures were crushed in the wake of the Chitauri's wrath. The reptilian invaders marched through the city, collecting and herding humans like cattle – anyone that tried to resist ended up dead. In a few short hours, the Chitauri had conquered The Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island, taking out the local heroes in the process. All the remained was the last Borough of Manhattan and the final stronghold for the forces of good: Avengers Mansion.

Shannon Carter kneeled to the ground, resting against the edge of her shield and trying to ignore the burning sensation in her lungs. The blond bombshell was well beyond her breaking point: her costume was torn in multiple places, the entire right half of her face was caked in red and green blood, and she could still smell her own hair burning. But despite her overwhelming fatigue, American Dream willed herself to stand as the Chitauri forces started to gather outsides the mansion gates. There were hundred, possibly thousands, of reptilian aliens swarming around and American Dream was a general without an army. Stature's gigantic form was slumped against the Chrysler Building – her throat spouting a red waterfall – Speed was bisected by a lucky Chitauri, and Wiccan and Hulkling were both shot down, holding each other close in their final moments.

How could things have gone so wrong so quickly? Why did it have to end like this – with her friends dying in front of her eyes one after another? This…this was too much. Captain America would have come up with a heroic speech to motivate the troop and rally his allies to victory against all odds. But she wasn't Captain America; she's just a fan girl that foolishly believed she could live up to his legacy. She didn't deserve the carry his shield – a sense of hopelessness washed over her. As the Chitauri troops swarmed around her with their guns poised to fire, the star-spangled soldier dropped her shield in dismay.

"What was I thinking?" American Dream murmured.

The Chitauri fired and everything faded into white.

"**Simulation ended.**" A cybernetic voice sounded.

As the blinding light started to diminish, American Dream found herself in the relative safety of the Avengers Mansion basement level Combat Simulation Room. The burning buildings of the New York skyline washed away in the background and returned to it polished white wall appearance. The 'Chitauri' and the mutilated corpses of the Avengers dropped their illusions to reveal synthetic androids – or Synthoids as they were commonly called – with most of them broken from the 'fight'. Standing in the heart of the training room, surrounded by broken robot parts and covered in Sythoid fluid, American Dream could only express disappointment in her performance. A sentiment that was only supported by the A.I. program: Just A Really Very Intelligent System.

"**American Dream progress report verified.**"The computer announced. "**Combat rating – 15 of 100. Avengers Combat Room ranking updated: American Dream – #20.**" The Blond Bombshell sighed heavily, hanging her head in disappointment. ** "Are you all right, Ms. Carter? You don't seem to be up to your usual standard; even Mr. Alexander's**** score is overwhelming higher than yours and, if I do say so myself, his ranking is generally low.**"

"Thanks for the update, JARVIS." American Dream replied, picking her shield up off the ground. "It's nothing to worry about. I'm fine."

"Like hell you are."

The blond bombshell didn't need to look to know who is was – there was only one person that loved giving her a hard time. Leaning against the edge of the training room doors with her raven hair in its usual wild mess and her lips a deep shade of violet was the ever critical Hawkeye. Her costume was a stark contrast from Clint Barton's version: a deep-violet top that only covered her left arm, a matching bracer glove on her right forearm, a pair of deep-violet pants with silver straps to hold her, a sideways cape around her waist, and a lengthy white scarf that fluttered around her neck. Instead of opting for a mask, Hawkeye settled for a pair of purple-tinted sunglasses, which Shannon knew also served as prescription glasses for her hyperopia. **(Kate Bishop – Hawkeye).**

"And to what do I owe the honor of your visit, Hawkeye." American Dream asked tightly, not in the mood to argue with her unofficial second-in-command."

"What the hell was that?" Hawkeye sneered, sounding more annoyed than usual. "That was the worst performance I had ever seen since…well…ever."

"I wasn't feeling my best today." American Dream responded, trying not to look in Hawkeye's direction.

"Not your best?" Hawkeye chastised. "Your rank is lower than Nova's – Nova of all people!" American Dream failed to retort, which only irked the archer further. "I just don't get it with you, Carter. Normally, you'd be at the top of the list and I'd have to train excessively hard to catch up to your score. But that…that was just horrible. Your teammates were killed, your planning was shoddy, and you didn't even put up a fight in the end. You just gave up. If it were Captain America…"

"Well, excuse me for not being Captain America!" American Dream finally shouted. The star-spangled pushed herself through the training room doors, keeping her eyes to the ground as she passed the archer. "I'm sweaty and tired…I'm going hit the showers."

Hawkeye remained silent as the blond bombshell exited the room, closing the doors behind her. Any considerate friend would have followed her immediately, but…Kate isn't exactly on friendly terms with most of the Avengers. It was more of an obligation. But still, she respected the girl who was personally chosen by Captain America. Hawkeye reached back and detached the compact bow from her quiver, walking into the center of the Combat Room. Maybe she'll talk to her after a little training.

"JARVIS, give me the Chitauri mission." Hawkeye commanded.

"**Right away, Ms. Bishop.**" JARVIS acknowledged.

A hot shower was nice, but it didn't do anything to detour Shannon's misgivings.

The star-spangled heroine walked back to her room, scrubbing her think hair fiercely to remove the excess water – this was one of many times she had considered just cutting it off. The blond bombshell stepped into her living quarters, noting how plain it was in comparison to the others. There wasn't much to it except for the oak furniture, a couple of personal photos, and an old time radio that Tony had built to signal in on current radio frequencies. What can she say, she's old fashion. Her costume – now cleaned and pressed by JARVIS no doubt – was folded neatly on her bed along with her – no, Captain America's – shield.

Shannon sighed heavily at the uniform, recalling a time when she was giddy to be wearing the uniform of her idol. Now, it seemed more like a burden than a privilege. As she walked over to the dresser to pick out her clothes, she stopped when passing over a photo hanging from the wall. A wave of nostalgia washed over her. It was a picture of herself along with Skaar, Ant-Man, Stature, Thor Girl, Spider-Girl, and Tony Stark before her became Iron Man standing in front of the newly refurbished Avengers Mansion. Shannon removed the picture for a closer look. She remembered that day well: it was the first time the new Avengers announced themselves to the public.

"Things were so much simpler back then." Shannon muttered softly. "When did things become so complicated?"

"Took the words right out of my mouth." Shannon expressed no surprise when she noticed Hawkeye leaning against the door frame. "Just finished the mission you bungled up. Managed to keep my entire team alive with minimal causalities to civilians and drove away the entire Chitauri fleet. My ranking is currently #1."

"How nice for you." Shannon said monotonously.

"So…" Hawkeye said coolly, looking over the soldier's shoulder for a better look at the photo. "That was when Avengers were first formed, huh? The new ones I mean, not the old guys."

"Yeah, the first time we worked together as a team." Shannon said sentimentally. "You know, Batman was the real reason the Avengers were formed in the first place. Kang the Conqueror managed to ambush the in the Watchtower and took them by surprise. Before they were taken down, Batman managed to activate an emergency protocol that called the seven best heroes he could find."

"Except Stark wasn't much of a hero back then." Hawkeye remarked.

"No, he was still just a teenager, but he was very brilliant." Shannon stated proudly. "He managed to figure out how to redirect Kang's technology and learned how to use Batman's Meta-Suit – that's actually where he got the idea for the Iron Man armor. After we beat Kang, Nick Fury suggested that we reform the Avengers in case something like this ever happened again."

"And two years, you're already up to twenty members." Hawkeye nodded.

"Yeah, things were much easier back then." Shannon nodded. "Tony was in charge, even though he was on the sidelines, until he finished working on the first Iron Man armor and decided to go solo for a while. Things were great when Tony was leading the Avengers, but we I was voted in charge…everything went downhill. Spider-Girl was expelled from the team, SHIELD placed us under temporary military control, and the Dream Team was KIA. Honestly…I don't think I have what it takes to lead this team."

"You've done fine in the past." Hawkeye retorted. "Sure, there may have been some bumps in the road, but we still came out fine."

"That was when someone else took control of the situation." Shannon proclaimed dryly. "When it comes down to it, I'm only a soldier following orders."

"….." Hawkeye stared silently for a moment. "Is this about the team…or about what happened in Cold Lake?" The blond bombshell didn't need to respond, but her silence was more than enough. "What happened back there wasn't your fault. You were under the influence of the Mad Hatter's control chips."

"I want to believe that." Shannon said hopelessly. "But you can't imagine what it was like, marching around to someone's orders even though you know what you are doing is wrong. I know I should have resisted, but I couldn't. On some level…I enjoyed receiving orders instead of giving them. I loved being a soldier, not a leader, even if I was doing horrible things in the process. If it was Captain America, he would've…"

There it was again: trying to compare herself to a great man. Captain American was the world's first superhero and helped save the world from total conquest before even heroes like Superman and Batman were born. Captain America cast a long shadow over anyone who would try to succeed him – a shadow that no one could possibly escape from. That was one of the few things about American Dream that irritated the archer. The woman never tried to compare herself to the original Hawkeye because she wasn't Clint Barton – she was Katherine Elizabeth Bishop, damn it! She was different and she was a better hero because of it. And it was time Shannon Carter learned this the hard way.

"Get dressed." Hawkeye commanded with authority, throwing the star-spangled costume in Shannon's face. "And come down to the Combat Room."

"What for?" Shannon asked in confusion.

"Just do it." Hawkeye hissed before slamming the door behind her.

Fully dressed and armed with her shield once more, American Dream reluctantly followed the archer back down to the Combat Simulation Room on the basement level. Shannon had no idea what Kate might be planning – training seemed the least likely since she had just finished a few minutes earlier. Whatever it was, the blond bombshell had a feeling that she wasn't going to like it – the archer had a tendency to make people miserable when she was displeased. Rumor has it that she'd been trading tips with Wolverine.

"**Back so soon, Ms. Bishop?**" JARVIS asked curiously. "**And I see you brought Ms. Carter with you.**"

"JARVIS, access Training Program ADA13." Hawkeye commanded.

"**Right away, Ms. Bishop.**" JARVIS acknowledged.

"ADA13?" American Dream repeated curiously.

"It's a specific training program just for you." Hawkeye informed, disconnecting her compact bow. "I had JARVIS make training programs for each member of the Avengers that focuses on their specific weak points. Heh, kinda makes me feel like Batman."

Her specific weak point? Shannon didn't like the sound of that. Before the blond bombshell had a chance to voice her concerns, the training simulation had started and the environment shifted around them. They were in the middle of a lengthy corridor – the walls were a depressing steel grey and a few of the doors were labeled in what appeared to be German. American Dream was rather clueless about their location, but she had a distinct feeling that she had been here before. And knowing Hawkeye, it probably had to do with some conflicting event in her past.

"Where are we?" American Dream inquired.

"You should already know that by now." Hawkeye said evenly, pointing to the banner hanging at the end of the hall. It was a green flag of a golden skull with six curled tentacles beneath it: the symbol of HYDRA. "The scenario is played out in HYDRA's flying island, which is currently soaring over the Atlantic on a direct course for Manhattan."

"What's the mission?" American Dream asked seriously. If HYDRA was ever involved, she needed to toughen up.

"Queen Hydra and Baron Zemo have developed a new airborne toxin they plan on releasing." Hawkeye informed knowledgably; she did invent the scenario. "If the virus is spread is released through the air, it will shut down certain functions of the brain to make people susceptible to suggestion."

"So it's basic mind control." American Dream remarked, sounding slightly disappointed.

"Yes, but this is more severe." Hawkeye continued. "Once the virus reaches the receptors of the brain, they anchor themselves inside and become permanently latched on. One whiff of the stuff and your gone forever. SHIELD caught wind of HYDRA's plans and sent a small group of agents to infiltrate and destroy the toxin. Unfortunately, they were captured and are now being held hostage."

"So it's a search, destroy, and rescue." American Dream summarized. "Where do we start?"

"Hey, you!" Both costumed heroines looked to their left, where three soldiers dress in venom-green and gold fatigues were in the middle of patrolling the corridors when they were spotted. "Hold it right there! Someone inform the Queen and Baron!"

"That's as good a place as any." Hawk remarked, pulling an arrow from her quiver.

The purple-garbed arched released the arrow with a sharp _twang _of the drawstring, which sailed down the hallway and smacked the soldier of the far right directly between the eyes. One member down, the other two pulled up their rifles and unleashed their full ammunition on the Avengers. Hawkeye quickly ducked behind her comrade, who quickly kneeled down and raised her shield to defend against the flying bullets. The star-spangled soldiers clicked a hidden latch on the side of her gloves, activating the hidden mechanism for the built-in disk launcher. American Dream took proper aim and shot two mini-shields from her gauntlet, ricocheting off the walls before pelting the HYDRA goons in the back of the head. While the soldiers were left disoriented on the floor, Hawkeye whipped out a net arrow and accurately pinned the both of them to the ground.

"Well, that was a nice warm-up." Hawkeye commented. "Maybe I wasn't clear to JARVIS about the level of difficulty."

At the same time, the HYDRA soldier Hawkeye thought she knocked out, groaned loudly at the throbbing pain in his skull as he reached into his pocket for his communication device. With a flip of the switch, the entire HYDRA base was awakened by the sound of klaxon alarms blaring down the corridors. Almost immediately, doors were slamming open and HYDRA soldiers were filing out into the narrow corridor – their guns poised to shoot the Avengers at the slightest twitch. Both Hawkeye and American Dream, seeing that they were completely surrounded, raised their hands in as a sign of surrender.

"Huh, it's like Madrid all over again." American Dream commented.

"You and I remember Madrid very differently." Hawkeye remarked.

* * *

><p>Towards the heart of HYDRA's massive floating fortress, Baron Zemo stared down at his newly acquired prisoners from his high-rise throne. His face was obscured by a striped, purple mask for a multitude of reasons with a golden crown and a decorated sword at his hip. His clothing chosen from the finest rich-purple cloth with golden boots, gloves, and belt and white-black spotted fur lined over his shoulders. Seated at the right hand of his throne was Queen Hydra, a slender woman with silky-brunette hair that touched past her waist. Her attire consisting of a black-and-green unitard with golden markings on the ribs and kneecaps completed with a flowing, golden cape.<p>

Based on the video screens hover just over their heads, HYDRA's flying island was almost within reach of its destination: the United Nation. Once they had dispersed their toxin, they would have the full control of the world leaders and representatives. There was some concern of the sudden alarm that went off in the lower levels, but Queen Hydra put it off as more SHIELD agents foolishly walking into their clutches. Speaking of whom, the five SHIELD agents that the foot of Zemo's throne needed to be dealt with soon – Nick Fury wasn't going to risk national security over a few puny soldiers.

While four of them had already been mentally broken by Queen Hydra's…interrogation, one of them still remained. The blond woman panted heavily with her pristine white suit ripped savagely and the one flawless skin marred by bruises and cuts. But despite all the sadistic torture methods Queen Hydra could throw at her, the woman simply refused to give in. She was a SHIELD agent of the highest caliber – Nick Fury knew how to train them well. The hooded dictator lifted himself from the throne; Queen Hydra followed him diligently.

"You have proven to be much stronger than I had originally anticipated." Baron Zemo complimented, approaching the woman and grabbing her jaw to force her gaze in his direction. "Queen Hydra shattered the minds of the others with relative ease, but you have resisted through sheer force of will. I can only imagine the secrets Nick Fury has told you." He released his grip on her face, patting her cheek in mock tenderness. "I could let Queen Hydra have her fun until she squeezed the information out of you…" In a flash, Zemo unsheathed his sword and pressed it against the woman's neck. "But in a matter of moments, that would be pointless."

"Once we have the United Nations under our control…" Queen Hydra hissed darkly. "We can simply order SHIELD to divulge its secrets. But I wouldn't mind breaking her a little longer. I do so love a challenge."

"You will have your fun in time, Queen Hydra." Baron Zemo proclaimed with certainty, replacing his sword back in its scabbard. "Soon, HYDRA will be at the pinnacle of the world. Through conquest, we shall bring order to this chaotic world. All shall hail the glorious named that is HYDRA!"

"Everywhere you go, there is always some dictator giving a monologue." The villains and agent directed their attention to the far end of the chamber where American Dream and Hawkeye stood tall, appearing unharmed despite the legion of HYDRA agents. "You'd think they'd learn to keep their big mouths shut by now."

"It's over, Zemo." American Dream stated with authority. Hawkeye smirked slightly; it was nice to have the Dream Girl back in the swing of things. "We've defeated your men and SHIELD is no doubt preparing to blow you out of the sky. Release the hostages and surrender peacefully while you still have a chance."

"How predictable of you, American Dream." Zemo said in a casual tone. "Straight to the point – just like your predecessor. But unlike Captain America, you fail to understand the situation. While one would expect Nick Fury to shoot HYDRA Island out of the sky before it reaches the coast…" He gestured a hand to the broken bodies of the four SHIELD agents. "He failed to predict that one of his agents would be captured and interrogated for the security codes of SHIELD's defense system."

"We've already hacked into SHIELD database and disable all their weaponry." Queen Hydra smiled maliciously. "They have no choice but to let us pass of risk killing themselves by colliding the Helicarrier head-on with HYDRA Island. And even if they did, we will have already spread the toxin by that time. Either way, we win."

"Wow, JARVIS did some really good work with this simulation." Hawkeye complimented.

"You forgot the part where the Avengers stop you." American Dream said with determination. "Now release the hostages or…or…" The star-spangled soldier suddenly lost the ability to speak as the only remaining SHIELD agent turned to look at her rescuers, sending Shannon in temporary shock. "Mo…Mom?"

That was a face she could never forget: Sharon Carter, Agent 13 of SHIELD's special fields office, part time member of the Secret Avengers, and mother of Shannon Carter. The last time the blond bombshell had seen that face, she was twelve years-old and driving back from school with her mother just before that fateful car crash, which she later found out was part of a HYDRA suicide squad. Shannon was paralyzed for a year as a result of the crash, but the pain was nothing compared to losing her mother at such a young age. And without knowing who her father was, Shannon ended up growing up without her parents. To see her mother again as an agent of SHIELD was just too much for the blond bombshell to handle.

"This is cruel even for you, Kate." American Dream hissed angrily.

"The point of this scenario is to learn how to keep your focus." Hawkeye said, not showing the slightest remorse. "It may seem harsh, but I thought it was the only way to get your attention."

"You son of a…" American Dream muttered.

"I'd hate to intrude up this little…debate." Baron Zemo interrupted. "But we really on a tight schedule, so…"

The masked dictator shot a quick look to his second-in-command and the Queen Hydra pulled a handheld communicator from her uniform. Just like last time, the cult mistress flipped a single switch that sounded an alarm, signaling the remaining forces of HYDRA to gather at their location. The green and gold soldiers flooded into the chamber from every level at a rate that seemed almost inhuman, all armed to the teeth with guns and blunt instruments. Two Avengers versus two evil dictators with a thousand soldiers at their disposal.

"_**Now **_it's starting to look like Madrid." Hawkeye remarked.

"Kill them!" Baron Zemo commanded.

Yep, it was definitely like Madrid. The violet archer swiftly knocked an arrow and sent it flying for Agent 13, snapping the bindings of her wrist rather easily. The moment her freedom was restored, Sharon's adrenaline flared at an alarming rate and the SHIELD agent jumped at the hooded baron. Consequently, Queen Hydra jumped between them and tackled the blond operative into the floor while Baron Zemo watched with a bored expression. The feminine dictator straddled Sharon's waist and pulled back her fist, but Agent 13 literally beat her to the punch. A hard jab to the nose and Queen Hydra fell backwards with her nostrils soaked in crimson liquid. The blond agent quickly took advantage of the woman's momentary distraction to jump back to her feet and deliver an elbow thrust to the side of the head, effectively knocking her unconscious. Queen Hydra may be a good interrogator, but was a horrible fighter.

Baron Zemo merely watched the scene as if it were a mildly entertaining program. He wasn't particularly amused that Queen Hydra was defeated so easily, but he did find the irony of it all rather humorous. And even while his focus was diverted, the hooded dictator was able to duck Shannon's star-spangled shield and sidestep as it bounced back without even looking. American Dream punched her way through the ranks of HYDRA soldiers and grabbed her shield out of the air as she made her charge for the baron. Zemo finally moved his attention to the American soldier and lifted his foot to meet with the face of the shield, effectively halting her rush. American Dream pushed his foot away, causing the baron to turn his back to her, and attempted to jab the hooded villain's back. Unfortunately, Baron Zemo effortlessly flipped backwards over the blond bombshell, landing directly behind her.

With an opening present, Zemo unsheathed his sword and stabbed his blade to the woman's spine. But at the last minute, Shannon rolled to the side, managing only to lose a few hairs in the process. Once she positioned herself back to her feet, American Dream rebounded at the hooded dictator with her shield pressed forward. Zemo parried the shielded strike with his sword, but American Dream had secretly activated her disk launcher and fired her mini-shields at point blank range. Though the baron was slightly impressed, he cleverly managed to deflect them with the hilt of his sword. Baron Zemo slashed his sword once more to meet with American Dream's shield, locking them into a familiar stalemate.

"Ah, this brings back memories." Baron Zemo said casually. "I remember the many times I had gone into battle with the real Captain America. How we would push each other to the very limit to outdo one another."

"And every time, you lost, Zemo." American Dream stated factually.

"Against Captain America, it is true that I have suffered a number of defeats." Baron Zemo said in the most malicious manner. "But you are not Captain America. You do not have his strength, his cunning, and his ability to lead others into battle. No, you just follow orders like a good little soldier."

"Captain America chose me to carry his legacy." American Dream said, more to herself than anything else. "I said so himself that he thought I was worthy of carrying his shield."

"But do _**you**_ think you are worthy?" Baron Zemo questioned coolly.

In that moment, American Dream faltered slightly. Back when she was a Tour Guide of the Avengers Museum (now the Avengers Mansion), Captain America had invited her to join the ranks of SHIELD both for her dedication and understanding. She felt confidence in herself when Captain America personally trained her, gave her the name American Dream, and became a member of the next generation of Avengers. As far back as she could remember, Shannon never doubted that she could live up to Captain America's legacy. And then Iron Man left the team, leaving her in charge of group.

From the first day, she understood the pressures of planning out their objectives and making sure everything turned out all right. But they never did. Spider-Girl allowed to criminals to walk free and had no choice to expel her, SHIELD forced the Avengers to accept Quake on the team and serve as their personal army, and Shannon lead the Dream Team on a mission that would end up being their last. Captain America was the greatest leader in Avengers history and she could even keep her team from falling apart. On some level…Shannon knew she could never be compared to her predecessor.

With the blond bombshell was locked in her shell of doubt, Baron Zemo found the opening he had been looking for. The hooded dictator threw off the soldier's shield and stabbed his sword while the woman attempted to regain her balance. Zemo had come close to piercing the tip through Shannon's neck until he felt a sudden chill tingling down his spine. It wasn't goosebumps – far from it. While the baron had been locked in battle with his arch-enemies successor, Hawkeye managed to pull away from the HYDRA soldiers long enough to let loose a freezing arrow on the baron's backside. The effects were almost instant as Zemo found himself frozen solid from the neck down.

"What is this trickery?!" Zemo sneered.

"Stay focused, Dream!" Hawkeye scolded, launching another net arrow at a group of soldiers. "We still have a mission to complete! Stop the toxin and let's get out of here!"

"Right!" American Dream acknowledged; it felt normal being told what to do.

While Hawkeye reached into her quiver of tricks and released a bolo arrow at another group of soldiers, Shannon quickly climbed the tiers of Zemo's throne. The baron never trusted anyone with something as important as this and would keep the mechanism close by – the throne seemed the most likely choice. But with both heroines went about their duties, Zemo grunted with force and shattered the ice encasing him. The baron took note of the flow of battle: the archer and the SHIELD agent were making quick work of his simple minded minions and the false Captain was close to ending his plan. He needed something to level the playing field. So when a few of his soldiers landed at his feet, Zemo already knew what to do.

"If I know Zemo, he'll have felt it somewhere within reach." American Dream murmured, kneeling at the baron's throne. The star-spangled soldier traced her hand around the edges of the seat until she felt something that didn't belong there. She quickly ripped it off and found herself holding a miniature control pad. "Found it. Game over, Zemo."

"Don't be so sure." American Dream turned on her heel and gasped softly. Her mother was forced to her knees while Baron Zemo was holding his sword to her throat. "Another difference between you and our dear Captain: you are easily swayed by your emotions."

"Let her go, Zemo!" America Dream demanded.

"What the hell are you doing, Dream?!" Hawkeye questioned, knocking out another soldier with her battle staff. During the entire fight, Kate had been monitoring the progress of HYDRA Island and now the screens showed they were directly over Manhattan. "You have the control! Shut down the toxin while you have a chance!"

"Touch anything and this woman dies." Baron Zemo stated seriously. "It's your choice, American Dream. Will you choose to save the faceless citizens you have sworn to protect…or with you watch your mother die in front of your eyes once more."

"Shannon…" Sharon said in a hushed tone.

A good soldier would have chosen to flip the switch and save the populace rather than risk the safety of the world for one person. The lives of many outweigh the lives of few. But this was her mother. Shannon had lost her as a child and she couldn't bear to lose her again, even if she knew it was just a simulation. Zemo was right – she did let her emotions get the better of her.

"I…" American Dream said indecisively. "I choose…"

"Too late." Baron Zemo sneered cruelly.

Before the star-spangled heroine could utter a single word, the hooded dictator ripped back his saber, leaving a wide, gashing mark across the woman's neckline. Sharon Carter's eyes were wide with shock as the full reality of what had occurred hit it. As the crimson fell past her neckline, the SHIELD agent fell on her side and twitched very briefly before everything just stopped. The chamber was deathly silent – even Hawkeye and the HYDRA soldiers were drawn away from their battle to watch. All eyes were now on Shannon. Deep in her mind, she knew it wasn't real; that it was just a scenario planned out by Hawkeye and that he mother wasn't really there. But what her eyes saw was HYDRA taking her mother away again just like before. There were no tears in her eyes, only rage.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" American Dream screamed.

The star-spangled soldier forgot her mission and dropped the remote, choosing only to focus on causing Zemo bodily harm. Shannon dived after the hooded dictator, which actually caught him by surprise and manage to tackle him to the ground, sending his sword sliding across the floor. The soldier straddled Zemo's waist and proceeded slam her fists repeatedly into the baron's face. She didn't care if she was going against her orders or over the edge – Zemo just needed to suffer. But in all of Shannon's anger, she had made one critical mistake. When she had dropped the remote, she had inadvertently flipped the switch to activate it.

"**Priority command override accessed.**" The computer exclaimed, snapping Shannon out of her frenzy. "**Neurotoxin released into atmosphere.**"

"No!" American Dream yelled in horror.

"Oh, yes." Baron Zemo cackled. Barely a split second passed before Zeno whipped out a small pistol from his belt and aimed it directly between Shannon's eyes. "Your mission has failed and the world shall now belong to HYDRA. Farewell…American Dream."

_**Bang!**_

"**Simulation ended!**" JARVIS called.

American Dream was still panting heavily as the scenery washed away and returned to its plain white appearance. Zemo, Queen Hydra, and the HYDRA soldiers were dissolved and replaced by their Synthoid counterparts. As the illusion dropped slowly, Shannon managed to catch her mother's bleeding corpse before it was reverted to a broken Synthoid with fluid leaking from its neck. Now that she finally saw the machine for what it really was, American Dream felt stupid for overreacting. A sentiment that was shared by the comrade.

"What the hell was that?!" Hawkeye snapped, pulling the soldier up by her arm. "You had a chance to save the world and you blew it."

"I know." American Dream said mournfully. "It's just…when Zemo had my mother…I just didn't know what to do. If I had chosen to save the world, I would have lost my mother…again. But if I chose to save her instead, the whole world would have paid the price."

"And if the end, you lost both because you couldn't decide." Hawkeye summarized, driving the soldier into more sorrow. "Look, I know you thought you only had to choose one or the other, but you failed to see that there was a third option. If you had distracted Zemo long enough, I could have got behind him and neutralized him while you stopped the toxin." American Dream wanted to face-palm at that point; it did seem quite obvious. "You were too worried about making mistakes that lost your focus."

"I suppose you are right." American Dream sighed. "I should have kept my cool and thought about it properly."

"You have to realize that every action has a consequence, whether it is good or bad." Hawkeye stated. "We are all bound to make mistakes that we will live to regret, but the point is to learn from those mistakes so they don't happen again. I mean, no one's perfect."

"But Captain America…"

"Screw Captain America!" Hawkeye shouted exasperatedly, stunning the soldier. "In case you haven't noticed, you aren't Captain America. You're American Dream: a hero in your own right. I know it must be tough to live up to the legacy of one of the greatest heroes in history, you'll never get anywhere. You don't see Superman or Batman throwing themselves out to be better than the originals." She stepped up to the soldiers and jabbed her finger roughly into Shannon's chest. "You need to decide right her, right now. Are you going to stay in Captain America's shadow…or are you going to learn to be your own person."

Be her own person? Was it really that easy? Granted, there were a few things that separated her from the original: gender, height, strength, athletic ability, military training, and the use of the Super Soldier formula. If she remembered correctly, SHIELD had once offered her a chance to test a sample of the new Super Soldier formula, but had firmly rejected it. She wanted to make it with her own strength, not from something borrowed. When did that start to change?

"You're right." American Dream nodded; Hawkeye smirked. "You're right. I'm not Captain America and there will never be another Captain America. I can't be the kind of hero he was, but as long as I carry this shield, I will fight for truth and justice just as he once did. I will create my own legacy as American Dream."

"That's the spirit." Hawkeye grinned.

"And that's why I'm quitting the Avengers." American Dream said.

A moment of awkward silence passed between them.

"Huh?" Hawkeye asked in confusion.

"I'm leaving the Avengers." American Dream repeated.

"Whoa, whoa, you don't have to go that far!" Hawkeye exclaimed.

"Yes, I do." American Dream said firmly. "Everywhere I look, I see a part of Captain America's legacy hanging over my head. As long as I remain with the Avengers, I will never be able to escape his shadow. If I truly am worthy of carrying Captain America's shield, then I need to prove it by finding my own path."

"Then who will lead the Avengers?" Hawkeye asked worried.

"I think we both know the answer to that, my friend." American Dream smiled, resting a hand on the archer's shoulder. "I know things may seem rough and hopeless for now, but I have faith that you will be able to lead the Avengers in a way not even Captain America could compare to."

In felt like somewhat of an honor to be told that she would be greater than Captain America, but the compliment was bittersweet. She may be proclaimed the new leader of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, but at the expense of losing a great ally. There were no "farewells" or "goodbyes" – Shannon knew that Kate wasn't most emotional character. So instead, the star-spangled flashed a bright smile and walked away with a simple wave of the hand. American Dream felt sad to be leaving her friends, but she knew they were in better hands. Right now, she needed to focus on becoming her own person and then…maybe someday…she would come back.

"**I take it this wasn't part of the plan, Ms. Bishop?**" JARVIS asked.

"It's the exact opposite of what I was expecting." Hawkeye groaned, scratching her head in bewilderment. "Damn that girl. First Iron Man, the Spider-Girl, and now American Dream. The Avengers just keep losing its members left and right. How does the Justice League remain so stable?"

"**Should I inform Mr…**"

"Leave it, JARVIS." Hawkeye commanded. "I think we should just leave Shannon alone for a little while to clear her head. And besides, if I know that guy, he'll probably figure it out before the rest of the team does."

"**What shall we do now, Ms. Bishop?**" JARVIS asked.

"Call a meeting with the other Avengers." Hawkeye groaned. "And start building some new arrows while you're at it. I have a feeling that more than a few people are going to be pissed at me."

* * *

><p><strong>Please, read and review – just one would be nice.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong><span>Avengers Profile<span>**  
><strong>Name: <strong>Hawkeye  
><strong>Real Name: <strong>Katherine "Kate" Elizabeth Bishop  
><strong>Aliases: <strong>Hawkingbird, Hawkette, Taskmistress, Weapon Woman, Knightress  
><strong>Designation: <strong>None  
><strong>Age: <strong>24  
><strong>Relatives: <strong> Derek Bishop (Father), Eleanor Bishop (Mother, deceased), Susan Bishop (Sister)  
><strong>MentorPartner(s):** Hawkeye (Clint Barton), Mockingbird, Stature  
><strong>Affiliation(s): <strong>Avengers, Bishop Publishing  
><strong>Occupation: <strong>CEO of Bishop Publishing  
><strong>PowersAbilities:  
><strong>- Eidetic Memory  
>- Exceptional Accuracy<br>- Skilled with various weapons  
>- Able to see from long distances<strong><br>Notes:  
><strong>- A gifted cellist  
>- Suffers from Hyperopia<br>- Referred to by multiple codenames  
>- Newly instated leader of the Avengers<p> 


	10. Arrangement

**Birds of Prey**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own DC, Marvel, or any other characters outside of OCs.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter Seven: Arrangement<span>**

_**Neo Gotham City – January 20, 22:16 EDT**_

Wayne-Power Enterprises usually ran twenty-four hour work shift generally due to the CEO having no social life – no one outside his personal assistant was stupid enough to say that to his face. But this night was different as he Bruce Wayne decided to end the day after only working sixteen hours as opposed to his usual twenty-three. He claimed that something very important was about to happen tomorrow and he wanted to be ready for when it happened, but he didn't elaborate further on that. Reaching the ground floor to the parking garage, Bruce Wayne stepped out of the elevator and tried to remember when his assistant, Terry McGinnis, had said he had parked the car. Bruce Wayne, being the first to wear the mantle of Batman, was already aware of Terry's secret life and was understanding after the college student had been called up to the Watchtower to deal with a global alert. The Justice League needed the leader and Bruce Wayne could take care of himself – he's an 87 year-old man that spent his whole life beating the crap out of villains like the Joker and Bane. He was more than capable of taking a simple walk across the parking lot.

Unfortunately, being Bruce Wayne guaranteed that nothing was ever simple. The elderly man had finally found his vehicle in the farthest corner of the lot – McGinnis was gonna get an earful for this – when he saw something reflecting of the dark-tinted window. Adrenaline running and natural instincts taking over, Bruce Wayne turned around with surprising speed for a man his age and swiped his cane across the intruder's face. There was a _thwack, _a grunt, and the clatter of his discarded weapon sliding across the concrete. Wayne Narrowed his eyes dangerously at the man he had managed to knock unconscious. Every inch of his body was covered in black cloth was a yellow lensed mask and a grey tunic with matching boots and gloves. The symbol on the man's chest was shaped like a red dragon's claw.

Bruce had seen that symbol many times in his life and recognized it as the mark of the Foot Clan from New York. And the one thing he knew about the Foot Clan is that they always travel in packs. Sure enough, more men garbed in ninja clothing dropped out of the shadows and surrounded the elderly businessman once coming to realize that their stealth operation had proved useless. Wayne took a quick survey. There were four of them, two armed with _katana_, and one carrying a _Kusarigama_. The odds of this battle were completely one-sided.

"This doesn't seem fair." Wayne remarked. "I'll fight with my eyes closed."

The Foot didn't know if the old man was bluffing or just senile, but none of that mattered to them. One of the closer ninja jumped at the elderly businessman, but was quickly met with the blunt end of Bruce's cane thrusting into his abdomen that was sharply followed by a swift uppercut. Another tried stealthily striking from behind the hunchbacked, but Bruce slammed the Shinobi with his cane and did a quick jab to the chest all without even looking back. The Foot ninja were starting to feel a little shaken up – this old man was more fearsome than he looked. But if they failed their master…they didn't even want to think about it. One of the dark-clothed assassins slid into view and started swinging his _Kusarigama_, flailing the sickled end to cut across Wayne's neckline. In an unlikely twist, the former Dark Knight reached out with his cane and intercepted the Japanese weapon, wrapping the chain around the length of his walking stick. With a superior smirk, Wayne pulled against chain the chain with strength that should be impossible for a man his age and slammed the ninja into one of the concrete pillars.

Four down, one to go – Bruce was starting to feel nostalgic. The last standing Shinobi must had foreseen the outcome of a battle between them because the Foot assassin reached into his belt and threw down a black pellet, creating a wide smoke screen. Wayne didn't move because walking around blind wasn't the smartest idea. At the last second, the elderly businessman brought the cane across his face to defend himself from a _shuriken _that had glided out of the fog. When the haze cleared, Wayne found himself alone in an empty parking lot with little blood on the pavement and a Japanese throwing weapon in his walking stick.

"Kids these days." Wayne grunted.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Metropolis – January 21, 11:29 EDT<strong>_

Today, the Birds of Prey had been called in for combat practice under the direct orders of their personal trainer, Judomaster. Talon had firmly denied that she needed any training and could handle herself in a fight, but that was before the Japanese martial artist kicked her as…nine times. The girls were gathered in the Metrotower training facility – affectionately dubbed "The Kitchen" – which was personally designed by Iron Man and Warhawk to completely reconfigure its entire structure based on the user's choice as opposed to the Avenger's simulation room. Today, Judomaster had decided to go with something simple and more attuned to her culture: a sparring mat on a raised platform. Speedy, Impulse, and Talon were standing off to the side – Iris surrounded by a pile of empty potato chip bags – while Batgirl was up on the mat with their teacher, moving in a slow circle in the opposite direction of the hero.

"I understand that you have trained since birth…" Judomaster said slowly, throwing a swift punch that blocked by Batgirl. "You've learned on instinct to read your opponent's thoughts based on the slightest movements of their bodies…" She stabbed her hand at the girl's waist, which was deflected by an open palm block. "But to those who have trained themselves in many forms such as tachi waza…"

From her peripheral vision, Batgirl saw the Japanese combat expert inch her left leg forward that indicated she was going for a kick to the rib. Naturally, the mute warrior positioned her forearm to block the attack and used her other hand to keep her arm steady. But instead of receiving a wide sidekick, Batgirl was knocked off her feet and off the platform by a crushing palm strike Judomaster slammed into her jawline. The Silent Knight dropped on her back with a heavy thud at the feet of her teammates; Impulse resisted the urge to laugh.

"It can be more of a weakness than a strength." Judomaster concluded, dropping down from the platform. "You are too dependent upon your sense of sight that your other senses have been severally crippled. It's the opposite of Talon…" The Wolverine clone perked at the mention of her codename. "Who depends so much on her sense of smell and hearing, but fails to see what is in front of her. For now, it's probably best if you two lean over each other's abilities to make up for your flaws until you have learned to overcome them yourselves."

"Yes." Batgirl nodded as Speedy helped her up."

"Whatever." Talon scoffed.

"**Birds of Prey**…" Jocasta's digitized voice called. "**Oracle wishes to see you in the Monitor Womb immediately. She wanted to run details on her next assignment.**"

"All right! Our first mission!" Impulse cheered.

"Irey, our first mission was in Weapon X, remember?" Speedy reminded.

"But this is our first mission as the Birds of Prey." Impulse revised cheerfully. "I bet it's a mission where to stop the evil, mad scientist from taking over the minds of everyone in Gotham by hypnotizing them through their TVs."

"Irey, that was a movie about Batman from the 20th century." Speedy sighed exasperatedly. "That Carrey guy played the Riddler, remember?"

"Oh yeah…that movie sucked." Impulse commented.

Talon hanged her head and sighed – she sometimes envied the children's carefree nature. While Judomaster stayed behind to continue with her own training, the Birds took a quick trip down to the twelfth floor to the Metrotower Monitor Womb. Oracle had said that it was similar to the Monitor Womb on the Watchtower – where it is appropriately called the Crow's Nest – but to a small degree of equipment. For the most part, it was just one giant room with an enlarged round table that displayed a holographic image of the planet and various markers to monitor any potential trouble on Earth. Oracle was predictably with her nose stuck in the computer screen and Poison Ivy was casually leaning against the simulation table, waving at the new arrivals.

"Oracle." Poison Ivy called as she nudged the computer freak; no response. "Oracle…Oracle…" Growing irritated, the red-haired woman slapped the mission coordinator upside the head. "Dennis!"

"Who – what – how – when?" Oracle snapped quickly, only just realizing the room had less space than usual. She seemed to be eying Batgirl in particular as she casually glided over to block the computer screen. "Oh…hey, girls…I was just…looking over some…very important mission-y stuff."

"What kind of mission-y stuff?" Impulse asked excitedly.

"Ask your daddy when you older." Oracle retorted; Irey whined loudly. "Anyway, I realize it's been a few weeks since your first mission together and we've spent a lot of time getting you girls adjusted to working as a team. But Pamela and Sonia feel that you're all ready to take on real missions now and I can't help agreeing with them." Irey and Mia cheered silently. "So before I brief you on your next assignment, I have to ask: have you decided a leader yet?"

"It's me!" Speedy and Impulse shouted in unity. The others cast doubtful looks over the children, who were glaring at each other in a challenging manner. "No, it's me! I'm the leader! Stop copying me!...Pickled seashells! Stop doing that!"

"Look, I'm clearly the best suited for the job." Speedy argued. "I'm a quick-thinker, I have lots of experience with Artemis, and I even worked a few missions with Batman and Spoiler for a few times. And besides that, you're only eight years-old."

"And you're a mature eleven." Impulse retorted. "I have super speed, so I know how to be quick on my feet. I have an IQ of 240, which makes me smarter than all of you put together. Then there's the problem with your HIV and with you getting sick all the time. This teams needs a leader that is healthy and can think her way out of problems, which is why it should be me."

"I'm the leader!" Speedy sneered.

"No, I am!" Impulse retorted.

"I am!"

"I am!"

"Batgirl is the leader." Talon interrupted irritably. The girl's stared at the Wolverine clone in bewilderment, but no more so than the Silent Knight herself. "Batgirl would make a perfect leader. She does have the most experience of all of us, she's in perfect health, she is strong and smart, and she learned everything she knows directly from Batman and Spoiler. In my opinion, there couldn't be a more suitable leader – she was literally born for this."

"Well…I have no problem if Batgirl is in charge." Speedy admitted thoughtfully. "Rather her than Irey."

"Yeah, I – HEY!" Impulse barked.

"How 'bout it, bats?" Talon asked.

"I…" Batgirl said hesitantly. It was a natural tradition that members of the Bat Family became leaders of the superhero teams ever since Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson led their teams' decades ago. Even Spoiler led the Outsiders in Bludhaven for a year before their death at the hands of Deathstroke. Now it was her turn; this was her rite of passage to become a true Bat. "I accept."

"Glad we got that resolved." Oracle said over the excited cheers of the children. "Now may I bring your attention to the monitor – Jocasta, bring up file #2846193." The artificial intelligence replaced the Earth hologram and brought up an article from today's news: **Billionaire Philanthropist Attacked by Ninjas**. "I'm sure you're all familiar with Bruce Wayne: CEO of Wayne-Powers Enterprises, founder of Batman Inc., and the Justice League's greatest financial benefactor. Last night, he was attacked in the parking garage while on his way back from work."

"Bruce!" Batgirl exclaimed worriedly. The others were surprised by her strange outburst, but the Silent Knight managed to recollect herself and address the matter properly. "I mean…is Mr. Wayne…all right?"

"Wayne is just fine – he's a tough old man." Poison Ivy grinned as if she knew a secret. "Wayne managed to escape without sustaining any injuries and even managed to identify the attackers." Oracle tapped a few keys on the console, bringing up the image of the dragon foot symbol. "They call themselves the Foot Clan, an organization of ninja that have operated since 12th century Feudal Japan. They have recently started up operations in New York City and are competitors against the Hand."

"The Foot? The Hand?" Impulse snickered. "Is there a head and butt, too?"

"Anyway…" Oracle rolled her eyes. "Our sources from New York City, who wish to remain anonymous, informed us that the Foot is led by this man…" Another photo appeared on the screen: one of a young, Japanese man with sleek-dark hair in a formal business suit. "Oroku Saki AKA The Shredder AKA Ch'rell of the Utroms."

"The Shredder has worked in the underground world for years." Poison Ivy informed. "Making back-alley deals with street gangs, distributing illegal arms, and has a reputation of always getting what he wants even if he has to take it by force. But that's only as Oroku Saki. As Ch'rell, he's slaughtered millions of lives on over sixty planets until the Utroms deemed him an interstellar criminal. I never thought I'd say this, but Lex Luthor looks like a saint by comparison."

"But wait…" Talon said slowly. "Why is Saki going after Wayne? As far as I know, Saki Industries and Wayne-Powers Enterprises have different priorities. Saki wouldn't just start attacking out of the blue without a good reason."

"You're right and we think we might know why." Oracle nodded, showing everyone the image of a sleek-silver satellite. "It's called the Iris – and, no, it's not named after you, Irey." Impulse pouted. "This satellite is the latest project of Wayne-Powers Enterprises. The satellite is set to be launched into the deepest orbit of space to allow for intergalactic communication to create a union between the planets. If everything goes well, we could be well on our way to intergalactic peace within a few decades."

"And that's the problem." Speedy theorized. "If we establish a connection between other planets, that means we will eventually come into contact with the Utroms. And if they find out that the one of the most dangerous criminals in the world is here…"

"The Shredder…will be forced…to retreat." Batgirl concluded.

"Wayne should be finalizing the plans for the Iris tonight." Oracle announced. "You're mission is to keep him alive until they are finished and once completed, the files will be transferred to the Justice League personal databank. When they are safe aboard the Watchtower, not even Lena Luthor will be able to hack in."

"On it." Batgirl confirmed, turning to her team. "Let's go."

"Yeah! Mission!" Impulse cheered, racing for the Boom Tube generator.

"Hey, wait up!" Speedy yelled as she and Talon chased after the speed demon.

"Oh, Batgirl, one more thing!" Oracle called out just before the Silent Knight left. "Congratulations. I'll see ya at the cave later."

"Yes." Batgirl responded simply before chasing after her team.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Neo Gotham City – January 21, 21:40 EDT<strong>_

Things were unnaturally silent around the Wayne-Enterprises building – workers twitched at the slightest noise, fearing that it may be the ninjas again. But after spending ten hours on mind-numbing patrols around the perimeter of the building, the Birds were starting to lose their enthusiasm. The younger members in particular were not the type to wait long hours waiting for something to happen; they were prone to boredom more so than the other members. But be that as it may, they all knew how important this mission was and was the main reason Speedy hadn't left her post, as opposed to Impulse running to get Chinese every twenty minutes.

The crimson archer was in her element at the highest point of the Wayne-Powers rooftop, scouring the rooftops through her pocket telescope. She had once considered getting telescoping sunglasses like the ones Hawkeye wears, but turned down the idea for two reasons. One, because it would clash with her costume, and two, Artemis would be on her ass if she even considered using anything similar to her number one rival. Checking the top of the stock market building and – regretfully – the Golden Dragon restaurant, Mia once again came up negative in her search.

"Barb to Shadow." Speedy reported into her wrist communicator. "The skyline is clear and the rooftops are empty."

* * *

><p>Down in the parking garage close to where Wayne was attacked, Impulse was lying flat on the roof of an inconspicuous black van that actually said "Inconspicuous Black Van". She wasn't sure if it was a joke or someone was really that stupid. The eight year-old speedster had been watching business men and security guards come in and out the entire time she was here, literally stuffing her face with meat buns from the Golden Dragon.<p>

"Haste to Shadow." Impulse said to the communicator in her goggles. "The parking lot's clear and my buns need a little more soy sauce."

* * *

><p>Talon had been positioned in the central lobby with a perfect view of the front door in the case the Foot Clan decided to become daring in their attempts. But she didn't get to be an innocent bystander hiding her face behind a newspaper like she wanted to be. Instead, she had been assigned to be disguised as the lobby receptionist after the last one quit on New Year's Eve. Laura hated ever bit of the job from answering phone calls to directing retarded workers that didn't know where they were supposed to go. But the thing she hated most was the uniform she was supposed to wear for the stakeout: a power suit with a smooth skirt and a pair of wire rim glasses – Laura visibly shuddered at the thought of the "P" word.<p>

"Nail to Shadow." Talon spoke into the earring she had been forced to wear. "The lobby is empty except for a few dumbass workers." A couple of the employees stopped to stare angrily, but kept moving under Talon's heated glare. "All their credentials check out and there's no sign or smell of anyone working for Saki."

* * *

><p>Bruce Wayne's private office was located on the fifty-seventh floor, just ten levels below Speedy's location – Bruce always felt positioning himself on the top floor makes him an easy target. The elderly businessman was going to work on the interactive projector screen, sliding through various blueprints of the satellite and making any changes that would help in the slightest. Batgirl would have been completely lost if she had been the one to look at the designs, but fortunately that wasn't what her assignment was. The Silent Knight was simply to observe and protect the original Dark Knight from the shadows; a praiseworthy feat considering how bright the room was at the time.<p>

For hours, Batgirl remained a silent sentinel in the corner of the room, never showing signs of hunger or fatigue her teammates exhibited. Even though Bruce and his watchful guardian had spent the last ten hours together in same room, neither of them had made any attempt to communicate or even look at each other. But Cassandra wasn't disappointed – she had spent the first eight years of her life in silence, which resulted in her stunted intelligence. The calm was only broken during the hourly reports from Batgirl's associates.

"Good." Batgirl responded to the communications. "Bruce – I mean, Mr. Wayne – is almost…finished. It should…only take…about…"

"Half an hour." Bruce added helpfully.

"Thirty minutes." Batgirl parroted. "Just keep…a look out…for any sign…of the Foot Clan. If we…are lucky…we will…be able…to get…throw this…" Bruce raised his head questionably. "I mean…through this…without any…competitions."

"_That's complications, Shadow._" Speedy corrected.

"_Hey, I'm kinda wondering…_" Impulse mused. "_Why are we using codenames when we already got code names? What's wrong with just saying Batgirl, Impulse, Speedy, and Talon?_"

"_We don't want the Foot Clan to know we're the ones guarding Wayne if they hack our signal._" Speedy sighed irritably. "_But if they didn't know before, they do now. Way ta go, genius."_

"_Here's a better question: why the hell am I in a skirt!_" Talon snapped; a few scared employees could be heard in the background. "_How the hell am I supposed to fight in this thing? It's so restricting and just feels…weird."_

"_You sure it's the skirt and not the pan…_" Impulse snickered.

"_You want to live to see puberty; you better not finish that sentence._" Talon growled.

"_I'm just saying that…_"

"Focus!" Batgirl snapped; only these girls could get a rise out of her. "We are on…a mission…so I…expect you…to act…proper."

"_Sorry._" The Birds apologized in unison.

"Just finding out that being a leader isn't all it's cracked up to be." Wayne smirked amusingly. "Trust me; I know exactly what you're going through. There were times when Guy Gardner, Booster Gold, and even Plastic Man nearly drove me up the wall. Let me tell you, if I wasn't worried that the Justice League would have destroyed itself, I would have given up the leader position a long time ago."

"You were…amazing." Batgirl said admirably. "I read…well, Stephanie…read to me…of all the time…you led…the Justice League…against…the greatest threats…in history. The Starro Invasion…The Legion of Doom…The Apo…Apok…the war before…the Justice League…disbanded. You were…the greatest hero…of all time."

"It's nice that you admire me so much." Wayne grinned appreciatively. "But I think I was distant from the others to make any real difference. Now when Dick or Tim was leading the Titans, they were proper leaders – always thinking of their teammates before themselves. Even McGinnis is turning out to be a better Batman than I was; don't tell him I said that."

"Even so…" Batgirl said shyly. "You are…the greatest. As Batman…and a…"

The Silent Knight stayed true to her name and hesitated to finish, but Bruce understood. Bruce was still adjusting to the fact that this girls had wondered into Neo Gotham with no real destination and ended up becoming not only a worthy successor for Barbara, but a wonderful daughter as well. When the adoption was made official, it was one of the most wonderful days in Cassandra's life; even more than the day she escaped her abusive father. But even though the public knew her as the first daughter of Wayne – or the four child – she still wasn't brave enough to address the man as "Father". Maybe there was some part of her that felt undeserving of the privilege.

"So, are you looking forward to tonight?" Bruce's voice brought her back to reality.

"Maybe…a little." Batgirl answered quietly.

"Stephanie and Barbara have been looking forward to this for a while." Wayne proclaimed, continuing his work uninterrupted. "And as out of character as it may seem, I'm actually looking forward to it myself. A day like this only comes around once in a lifetime – even Jason agreed to drop by for a visit."

"You don't…really…have to do…all this." Batgirl said embarrassingly.

"Yes, we do." Wayne replied simply. "Because you're important to us, Cassandra."

The Silent Knight was glad she was wearing a mask because she was sure her face was as red as it felt.

* * *

><p>Speedy was unbelievably bored. When Artemis said was going to become part of the Justice League – albeit its covert division – she was hoping for a little more excitement. She needed to move around both to relieve excess energy and for the good of her health. Speaking of which, the crimson archer pulled her sleeve back down after injecting herself with her daily antiretroviral drug. It was always a good idea to keep a few needles hidden in her quiver at times when she needed immediate treatment. Sighing tiredly, Speedy took out her pocket telescope one last time before calling it a night.<p>

Much to her surprise, the all lights in the stock market building across the street went out like someone had flipped a switch. It was immediately followed by the residential bank, the three insurance companies, the Roxxon building, the Golden Dragon restaurant – every building on the block was going black. So it came as no surprise to Mia when the blinding "Wayne-Powers" was shut down and the offices inside suddenly went dark.

"_Hey, who turned out the lights?_" Impulse cried; a soft thud was heard in the background.

"_What's going on?_" Talon questioned hastily. "_Did we blow a fuse or something?_"

"Not unless every fuse on the block went out at the same time." Speedy remarked, spying across the darkened rooftops. "All the electricity still running beyond Moore St. and Miller Ave., so it's too contained to be a citywide blackout. What about the Iris blueprints? The power surge didn't erase them, did they?"

"_Wayne's…commuter…"_ None of the girls bothered to correct her. "_Runs on…an internal...battery. The plans…are safe._"

"_There's no way this could be an accident._" Talon stated.

"And you'd be right." Speedy responded, directing her focus to the opposite building. "Because I spy with my little eye: a bunch of men in footy pajamas."

As she had reported, a good number of men dressed in traditional Shinobi clothing with the well-recognized Foot symbol were leaping from building to building to get a good view of Wayne's office. Mia had fought radioactive supervillains, immortal dictators, and impervious mob bosses, but this was the first time she had seen ninjas in real life. This would be so cool if they weren't trying to kill Wayne. It seemed that the Foot Clan was very deep into the Ninjutsu tradition as a few of them actually stood up on the ledge and were aiming old-fashioned _daikyū_ – the Japanese longbow. So they wanted to play that game, huh? That was fine with her.

Mia proved herself to be the superior archer as the preteen heroine pulled out an arrow, took and, and sent it flying before the Foot Ninja had a chance to pull the drawstring. The red-tipped dart landed in the center of the group and released a cloud of smoke that obscured the ninja's range of vision. Speedy was quick to dash off the ledge of the Wayne-Powers building while simultaneously releasing an arrow from her arsenal. The barb formed a zip line cable that connected between the two buildings, which Speedy used to slide down with the shaft of her bow.

The crimson archer tucked and rolled on to the rooftop, but quickly ducked backwards when one of the Foot Ninja took a quick swiped at her with his _katana_. Falling on her back, Speedy knocked an arrow and shot the projectile at the ninja's face, which formed a red foam that covered his face until he was rendered unconscious. Speedy quickly kicked back up to her feet and immediately raised her bow to block another incoming _katana _before kicking the man in the stomach and slamming her weapon in the back of his neck. Somewhere deep in the haze, one Foot Ninja had the perfect view of the archer's backside and tossed a collection of _shuriken _from behind. Unfortunately for him, Speedy saw this out of her peripherals and shot a quick arrow that gracefully glided through the holes in the throwing stars and stabbed them to the floor. The Foot Ninja was so stunned by her level of accuracy that he didn't even put up a defense when she slammed him in the face with her bow.

One by one, the ninjas were defeated by the preteen heroine in the haze of smoke. Despite their reputation, they seemed fairly easy to defeat in Speedy's opinion.

"That wasn't so bad." Speedy said triumphantly. "So when do I get a real challenge?"

Soon than she would think. When the smokescreen finally started to dissipate, Speedy could already see the number of Foot Ninja she had defeated, but discovered two more that she had not tallied. This two Foot Ninjas were different: taller, bulkier, and more mechanical. Mia was under the impression that they were actually robots and not real ninja. They were covered in blue-metal plating with silver armor overtop, a massive gun connected to the left arm, the Foot Clan symbol on the right side of their chests, and a beaming-red eyes in the center of their faces. Definitely not Foot Ninjas – more like Foot Mechs.

"Haven't seen you two before." Mia commented, quickly knocking another arrow. "I'm betting you guys are as fast as you are smart." The crimson archer released her bard, but grimaced as the arrow snapped on contact with the Mech's armor. "I really need to stop buying from Hammer."

The arrow didn't even seem to tickle the Foot Mechs, who raised their wrist-mounted armaments and opened fire on the hooded heroine. Speedy yelped in surprise and ducked behind the stairway wall as the mechanical ninja continued to barrage her with a shower of bullets.

"Uh…guys." Speedy called, trying not to sound panicky. "I could use a little reinforcements here."

"_You think you got problems…_" Impulse responded.

* * *

><p>"I've got my own situation, thank you!" Impulse finished.<p>

From the moment the lights went out, Impulse knew trouble wasn't far behind. She had a seventh sense for danger about this kinda things – she hasn't elaborated when the sixth sense was. Fortunately, Impulse's goggles came equipped with multiple vision modes including the handy night vision mode. It took a few turns to get the right mode, but she became immediately aware of her surroundings the moment she found the right one. A large group of Foot Ninjas, all equipped with night vision goggles, had cornered the young speedster with her back to the van. Irey seemed to get the short end of the stick – her group was twice as large as the ones Speedy and Talon were fighting now.

Knowing that they had been spotted, the Foot Ninja pitched a cluster of _shuriken _at the young heroine. Thankfully, Impulse's accelerated intelligence allowed her to react quickly and vibrate her molecules through the vehicle behind her. As she came out on the other side, there was a series of dull thuds that indicated the _shuriken_ had hit the van. But just when she seemed to be in the clear, two ninjas carrying _Manriki _dashed into view and chucked the weighted ends at the red-head. Irey used her quick footing to grab the weights and dashed around the duo several times before pulled the chain hard, causing the ninja to headbutt each other.

With all the cars and support beams blocking her path, Impulse was at a disadvantage against the Foot Ninja – whose bright idea was it to put her in the parking garage anyway? If she could make it outside, she could have the free space she needed to take them out. Unfortunately, the Foot Ninja seemed to be way ahead of her. As the young speedster started towards the exit, she quickly skidded to a halt when she discovered a field of _makibishi _blocking her path. Irey had to admit, they were decent strategists.

Three Foot Ninja carrying _katana _jumped at the little speedster, but Irey quick sidestepped them and allow them to fall into the _makibishi _field. Impulse giggled for a moment, but she quickly refocused her priorities. If she couldn't lure them outside, then she would have to make do with what she could. The red-haired speedster turned on her heels and charged back at the Shinobi cluster, which did manage to catch them off guard. To the few that were still paying attention, the Foot Ninja unleashed another barrage of _Shuriken _to which Impulse vibrated her molecule to pass right through them. Unfortunately, she wasn't as skilled as Bart when it came to running and vibrating, which did allow for one star to cut her thigh and another to clip her pigtails. But she pressed on.

Impulse zipped through the ninja swarm and drilled her fist into as many black-clothed assassins as she could. With her speed combined with her momentum, it may as well feel like you were being hit by a 2-ton brick. Irey emerged from the other side and skidded to a halt, noting that her charge had knocked out half of the attackers. The red-headed speedster quickly dived back into the fray again before the Foot Ninja had a chance to defend themselves. Irey repeated this process two more times until all the ninjas were unconscious.

"That…was something." Impulse panted heavily, using her knees to keep herself steady. "Impulse to Batgirl. I took down all the ninjas in the parking garages. Maybe I can – GURK!"

Impulse couldn't explain how, but the young speedster was suddenly pulled off the ground by her pigtail and sent flailing into a nearby car. The red-haired heroine crushed the hood and the car alarm went off – Impulse punched the hood again to silence it. When she first looked back, she didn't see anything that could cause her sudden flight. But then three men baring the symbol of the Foot Clan on their chests were painted into reality. They were all covered in blue latex with black-plated armor and a pair of bug-eyed goggles similar to hers. The way they sudden appeared out of nowhere indicated that they were using a kind of chameleon tech.

"Uh…scratch that last one." Impulse reported; The Foot Tech Ninjas vanished again. "I think I just got my work cut out for me – Whoa!"

"_Impulse!_" Batgirl yelled over the communicator. "_Impulse…are you there? Talon…what is…going on?_"

* * *

><p>"Little busy now." Talon growled.<p>

When the lights had gone off earlier, Laura could already hear the herd of silent footsteps against the overlapping confusion of the panicking employees. Using her heightened sense of smell, she had already determined that the Foot Ninjas had arrived at an even dozen and appeared to aiming for her instead of slipping past. The Wolverine clone barely managed to duck in time to avoid being clipped by one of the _katana _blades. Talon grasped the edges of the lobby desk and flipped in over to fall on two of the Foot Ninjas. Another of the Shinobi was twirling a _Kusarigama _and slashed the sickled end across the air. Now normally, Laura would have easily avoided this, but there were two complications: the skirt and the damn high-heels the Birds forced her to where. Who the hell in their right mind would wear these god-awful death traps?

It was just out of pure luck that Laura managed to trip over her feet and the sickle blade cut a wide gouge in the Wayne-Powers sign. The Foot Ninja pulled back the chain to retrieve his weapon, but Talon quickly defeated him with her own secret weapon: high-heels. Either from amazing accuracy or just dumb luck, the heels actually managed to stab the Shinobi in the eye and cause him to fall back with his face covered in agony. At least she finally found a use for those things. Laura made one last modification to her appearance by cutting slits into the sides of the skirt, allowing her for greater mobility.

"Now that's more like it." Talon grunted.

"_Talon…what is…going on?_" Batgirl questioned.

"Just dealing with a few of these clowns." Talon informed; her eyes adjusting to the darkness. "I should be done with them in a few minutes and be able to help Impulse in the garage."

"_No killing._" Batgirl warned.

"No promises." Talon grinned mischievously, drawing out her trademarks.

With an animalistic scream, the mutant experiment charged in head-on after the Foot Ninja, who responded with a barrage of _shuriken._ Unlike the others, Talon took the throwing stars directly knowing that her healing factor would close any wound. The savage warrior slashed across the chest of the first ninja she met and quickly followed with a quick roundhouse kick to another's waist before stabbing a third directly in the shoulder. Not wanting to get on Batgirl's bad side, Laura did her best to avoid any critical points to make sure she didn't unintentionally kill them. It wasn't easy for her to hold back considering she had been raised from birth to be the ultimate killing machines. But when she started considering lethal force, she looked down at her mother's locket – she was going to be different.

The Shinobi she stabbed was still alive and threw him into the wall to knock him out. Out of nowhere, two _Manriki _chains flew out and wrapped around Talon's wrists. The ninja's hold the ends of the chains pulled hard to restrict any movement in the mutant's arms while two of their comrades charged in with their _katana _blades ready. Talon scoffed. Using the chains as leverage, Talon performed a successful backflip that brought her bladed feet up to slash the sword-wielding Shinobi across the face. Laura gracefully landed back on her feet and used her superior strength to pull the chain-holding Ninjas toward her. Talon quickly stabbed them through the stomach with her claws once close enough, making sure to avoid the vitals.

X-23 retracted her claws and let the Foot Ninja drop in a pile. They were still alive, but she had a feeling them wouldn't be going on any night patrols for a few weeks.

"Damn, that was harder than I thought." Talon grumbled, waving her hands free of blood. "Who would have thought I would have to hold back so much. These guys aren't nearly as strong as I thought they would be."

"Then perhaps we shall prove a sufficient challenge."

Talon jolted slightly. When she looked back to the front entrance of the building, there were four men that seemed to have popped into existence without her notice. They were dressed much differently than the average Foot Ninja: black cloth with red boots and cape, armored bracers, Asian straw hats, and the symbol of the Foot Clan on their sashes. Each one of them was carrying their own unique weapons: an ax, a spear, a trident, and a twin-bladed sword. Just based on looks alone, she could tell that they were in a league above the Foot Ninjas.

"And who are you supposed to be?" Talon questioned.

"We are the Elite Foot." The twin-sword ninja responded. "You prove yourself a deadly foe, but are forced to hold back your skills in the face of their weaker beings. Perhaps you wish to test you mettle against the Elite."

"You mean you're giving me permission that slice and dice you?" Talon asked curiously; the ninja nodded in response. "I think this day is just getting better."

It took a lot for Laura to hold back on the "no-killing" policy the Justice League established. But if the enemy gave her permission to kill them, they couldn't really argue, right? The mutant experiment leaped across the lobby and swiped her twin claws across…a puff of smoke? She could have sworn there were four red-eyed super ninjas just standing here a moment ago and now just vanished without a trace. Even her sense of smell or hearing could pick up their locations. Laura held her claws close to herself, growling dangerously like a beast that had been cornered. The clawed heroine steadily walked backwards while searching right, left, up, and down for the elusive ninja. The one place she didn't look was back.

In a flash, Laura hissed as spear tip stabbed straight through the bone of her shoulder-blade before quickly being pulled back. Talon instinctively swung her arm backwards at the assailant, but he had vanished just like before. And while Laura's mutated genetics was in the process of healing the girl's injury, one of the Elite Foot jumped across her vision and slashed his ax across Laura's abdomen. Hissing angrily from the sensation, Talon turned to chase after the bastard when she was instead confronted by the twin-bladed ninja. The ominous warrior spun his twin weapon like a windmill, guiding the spinning blade from Laura's left thigh to her right shoulder. And just when it seemed like it couldn't get any worse, the last Elite Ninja dropped from the ceiling and stabbed Laura in the chest with his trident.

X-23 coughed up a small puddle of blood, but that was the least of her concerns at the moment. Being lifted off the ground by the trident blade, Laura was forced to look down on the Elite Ninja watching her in amusement before chucking her to the opposite end of the wall. Laura could feel her bones rattling after impacting the wall and slamming down on the cold floor.

"_Talon!_" Batgirl screamed. "_Talon! Answer me!_"

"Yeah, run into a little problem, boss." Talon grimaced.

* * *

><p>"Talon, are you…all right?" Batgirl asked concerned.<p>

"_Not really._" Talon grunted; a couple of thuds could be heard. "_I'm getting my ass kicked by a bunch of Elite Ninjas. They can somehow disappear and reappear at any point they want. It's almost as if they have teleporting powers._"

"_At least you can see your guys._" Impulse panted over the comm. "_I'm running around trying to punch a couple of invisible ninjas. You know how hard it is to find somebody when they turn invisible. Let me tell ya, it ain't easy!_"

"_And I'm still getting gunned down over here!_" Speedy yelled over the loud gunshots. "_I don't get it! It's like they've each matched us up with an opponent they knew would have the edge in a fight! But how did they know where we are in the first place?!"_

"_It's like you said earlier…_" Impulse wheezed. "_They must have hacked into our communications and tracked us d – Ugh!_"

"Impulse!" Batgirl exclaimed worriedly. "Speedy! Talon! Somebody!" She quickly turned to Bruce, who was brought out of his work by the fear in his adopted daughter's voice. "They have…found us. They traced…our con…con…talking…back to us. We've been…ambushed."

"But if they knew where the others were…" Bruce hummed seriously. "Wouldn't that mean…"

That they knew where she was, too. Cassandra was just thinking the same thing. At that precise moment, a shadow glided across the office window and the glassy surface was shattered by another new intruder. Being the faster of the two, Batgirl quickly grabbed her adopted father by the shoulders and pulled away from the danger. But not before Wayne had the chance to grab his computer. The duo tumbled across the office floor – the Silent Knight was extra cautious to make sure that Wayne wasn't seriously injured by the sudden movement. When Wayne disregarded her concern, Batgirl pushed to her feet and turned to the assailant – Cassandra Cain felt her mouth go dry.

The attacker was an unbelievably beautiful Chinese woman with silky-black hair and a pair of caramel-brown eyes Batgirl saw every day when she looked in the mirror. The woman wore a Chinese-styled vest beneath a smooth-black trench coat, a pair of red formfitting pants, and a basic pair of black boots. The woman was truly a lovely sight to behold. But like a wildflower, her beauty only masks her deadliness.

"Hello, Mr. Wayne." Lady Shiva smiled pleasantly. "I believe we have an appointment."

* * *

><p><strong>Please, Read and review.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong><span>Justice League History Profile<span>**

**Real Name: **Bruce Wayne  
><strong>Aliases: <strong>Batman, Insider, Matches Malone, World's Greatest Detective, The Dark Knight, The Caped Crusader  
><strong>Designation: <strong>C01  
><strong>Age: <strong>87  
><strong>Relatives: <strong>Thomas and Martha Wayne (Parents; deceased), Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake (Adopted Sons), Cassandra Cain (Adopted Daughter), Artemis Crock-Grayson (Daughter-in-Law), Serah Grayson, Mia Dearden (Great Granddaughters), Terrance McGinnis (Genetic Offspring),  
><strong>MentorPartner(s): **Batman, Robin, Nightwing, Red Robin, Batgirl, Huntress  
><strong>Affiliation(s): <strong>Wayne-Powers Enterprises, Batman Family, Batman Inc. (Formerly) Outsides, Justice League  
><strong>Occupation: <strong>CEO of Wayne-Powers Enterprises, Vigilante (Retired)  
><strong>PowersAbilities:  
><strong>- Genius-level intelligence  
>- Martial arts master<br>- Master detective  
>- Multi-lingual<br>- Business management  
><strong>Notes:<br>-** Founder of Batman Inc.  
>- Financial Benefactor of the Justice League<br>- Founding member of the original Justice League.


End file.
